Author
Dr Sunitha Abhay Jain
Organisation/Institution
Country
INDIA
Panel
Competition Law
Title
Regulating Digital Collusion: An Asian Perspective on Antitrust Law in the Algorithmic Era.
Abstract
Regulating Digital Collusion: An Asian Perspective on Antitrust Law in the Algorithmic Era. Abstract Many Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand are moving towards a digital economy. China has already adopted laws to regulate digital collusive practices. South Korea has implemented practices to deal with digital anti-trust policies. Japan has issued guidelines to deal with it. India is still in the process of the Digital Markets Act. There exists a progressive approach to curtail digital collusive practices. In today’s technological world algorithms have become an integral part of our day-to-day transactions. Algorithms help us to analyze massive amounts of data, consumer behavior and the trends in the markets. Algorithms have become so pervasive in modern societies that they can track, predict and influence the behavior of individuals in every aspect of our lives.(F. N. Algorithms and collusion -Competition policy in the digital age, OECD, 2017). Traditionally, competitors used to fix prices rather than being dependent on the market forces of demand and supply. With the use of algorithms now-a-days, digital collusion is taking place as algorithms enable companies to coordinate pricing through tacit collusion. An important question that arises is whether antitrust liability can be established when pricing decisions are made by machine using an algorithm rather than by human beings. Further, there are various other issues that need to be addressed such as higher prices for consumers, lack of transparency, difficulty in proving intent, jurisdictional arbitrage, market distortion, barriers to entry, unintended bias etc. All these pose challenges to the traditional legal and regulatory frameworks. This paper focuses on the way in which digital collusion takes place and the legal changes needed for such situations in Asia. The methodology adopted would be comparative and purely doctrinal based on the laws, policies adopted by different jurisdictions in Asia. Key words: Digital collusion, Algorithmic bias, Anti-trust laws, Unfair competition
Biography
Dr. Sunitha Abhay Jain, Professor, School of Law, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, holds a Doctoral Degree in Law from NLSIU, Bengaluru. She has served as the coordinator for the LLM & MPHIL Programs at Christ (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru for more than a decade. She holds an LL.B. and LL.M degree from Bangalore University and has specialized in Corporate and Commercial Laws and had secured Second Rank in the University for her BA LLB (Hons.) program. She also completed her Master of Human Rights from Pondicherry University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Cyber Laws from NALSAR, Hyderabad. She has completed her Post-Doctoral Research in digital technologies from SUSU, Russia. She has also completed her UGC NET examination. She has been a full time faculty in law and has a teaching experience of over two decades. She has been a part of the Experts Consultation Workshop on Karnataka Municipalities Bill, 2019 organized by NLSIU in association with Directorate of Municipal Administration, Government of Karnataka. Has taught many courses ranging from International Trade Law, Centre-State Relations & Constitutional Governance, Media law, Administrative law, Law of Contracts, Human rights, Property law amongst others. She has numerous publications to her credit in the form of chapters and research articles in reputed Journals and books. Has been a resource person and has chaired and presented papers at National and International Seminars and Conferences.
