The Centre regularly conducts conferences on emerging areas of law and policy. The purpose of holding these discussions is to build a body of knowledge and generate consensus between different stakeholders on varying issues. The Centre has played a key role in formulating the current structure of competition law, consumer jurisprudence and technology policy in jurisdictions like India, Brazil, the EU and the US.

The details of some of the conferences organised by the Centre include:

1. Regulating AI: Navigating the copyright challenge

Background of the conference

The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has led to the generation of new opportunities and challenges in the economy. The US Copyright Office has recently published a report on the overlap between AI and copyright law and public policy considerations around it. Similarly, the Indian government has formed a panel to assess whether development of the technology is in line with the legislative framework.

The YouTube feed of the conference could be accessed here.

2. Competition in Digital Markets: The Remedial Phase

Background of the conference

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a petition in the Google search case suggesting remedial action to promote competition in digital markets. Some of the key measures as proposed include opening of search ecosystem by prohibiting Google from offering any monetary incentives in relation to distribution of its search services, combining its search with other products (‘bundling/ tying’), signing exclusive agreements with content publishers and taking a mandatory approval from the department before investing or acquiring any competing general search company among others. The petition also suggests that Google must divest in its web browser Google Chrome, which is a key access point for obtaining up to ~30% of the total search queries.

The YouTube feed of the conference could be accessed here.

3. Competition in Digital Markets: A Look at the US AdTech Trial

Background of the conference

The US District Court of Virginia began the antitrust Advertisement Technology (‘AdTech’) trial against Google Inc. last week. Some of the key questions before the Court include inquiring the applicable supply chain in AdTech, identifying the presence of Google in it and possibility of monopolisation in violation of US antitrust laws. The case has been filed by the Department of Justice, US accompanied by multiple state attorney generals where the government has sought a decree against the company along with divestiture in key components of the AdTech stack to restore fair play and competition in the market.

The YouTube feed of the conference could be accessed here.

4. US vs. Google (2024): Implications for the Global antitrust

Background of the conference

The Department of Justice (DOJ), US along with multiple states filed two lawsuits against Google in 2020 alleging that the company is violating various antitrust laws in the US. The plaintiffs alleged that Google has unlawfully used various distribution agreements to thwart competition and maintain its monopoly in the market for general search services and in various online advertising markets. These distribution agreements are further exclusive in nature where Google secures the default positioning on nearly all desktop and mobile devices in the US. Google denied such allegations.

The YouTube feed of the conference could be accessed here.

5. AI in India: The Roadmap Ahead

Background of the conference

The advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has led to the generation of new opportunities and challenges in the economy. The research conducts a literature review of various use cases of AI and assesses the technology from a public policy standpoint. Based on the gaps identified, we have proposed a principle-based regulatory framework to ensure optimal outcomes for all the stakeholders involved.

The YouTube feed of the conference could be accessed here.

6. Draft Digital Competition Bill, 2024

Background of the conference

The Committee on Digital Competition Law (CDCL) proposed a draft law on competition in digital markets known as 'Draft Digital Competition Bill, 2024'. The law proposes ex-ante rules for 'Systematically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs)' to ensure a level playfield and economically efficient outcomes in the market. The Government has sought comments from all the concerned stakeholders on the Bill.

The YouTube feed of the conference could be accessed here.

7. Competitive of the AI Industry in India

Background of the conference

The advent of GenAI took most of the world by surprise. Though propelled by the advent of ChatGPT, Big Tech entities were soon to follow the trend by making strategic investments in the existing AI companies and simultaneously enhancing the expenditure to build the core infrastructural inputs required to be in this market. The market is currently in a nascent phase where there are a lot of uncertainties related to the future. The paper is an attempt to understand AI on its own merits and map the subsequent competition landscape around it. The paper also conducts a literature review of most of the leading competition authorities who have conducted similar studies across the world.

The YouTube feed of the conference could be accessed here.

8. Amnesty scheme under competition law

Background of the conference

The draft regulations have been published by the Indian Competition Commission in the backdrop of the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023. One of the substantive changes brought forth by the amendment is the introduction of the commitment & settlement scheme in the Indian competition law. Another change is the introduction of 'leniency-plus' regime where an entity may inform the competition commission about additional cartels in specific markets. The draft regulations can be accessed here.

The YouTube feed of the conference could be accessed here.

9. Competition Landscape in Advertisement Technology ('AdTech')

Background of the conference

Advertisement Technology (AdTech) is an indispensable component of the digital markets. It has led to a complete overhaul of the system where the publishers and advertisers are governed by the terms issued by the intermediaries. Given the market structure, competition authorities across the globe have opened multiple investigations against select tech companies to look into various allegations as raised by the publishers for violating competition law.

The conference was hosted in physical mode.

10. CARCIL National conference on antitrust laws

Background of the conference

The Competition Act, 2002 is proposed to be amended through the Competition Amendment Bill, 2023. Some of the major provisions of the amendment include introduction of commitment and settlement scheme, change in the definition of 'relevant market', introduction of time frame for receipt of information and deal value threshold (DVT). The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance further proposed to enact a separate legislation to regulate competition in digital markets through its report on an ex-ante basis.

The conference was hosted by CARCIL Chanakya NLU, Patna in physical mode.

11. Competition in Digital markets

Background of the conference

The US House Judiciary Committee conducted hearing to scrutinize the alleged anti-competitive conduct of some of the biggest tech firms known as Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple. The hearing was conducted amidst intense scrutiny conducted by competition authorities across the globe, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), to look into various business practices in an attempt to monopolize the market.

The YouTube feed of the conference could be accessed here.