Competition Law and Digital Market: Regulation of Big Tech in India

India’s rapidly expanding digital economy has seen the rise of Big Tech platforms such as Amazon, Google, Meta, and domestic entities like Paytm and Flipkart, which dominate through network effects, data control, and algorithm-driven ecosystems. Traditional competition law, rooted in price-based analysis, is insufficient to address these dynamics. This paper critically examines the ability of India’s competition law framework primarily the Competition Act, 2002 and emerging regulatory measures to address market distortions caused by digital gatekeepers. The study highlights key characteristics of digital markets, including multi-sided platforms, self-preferencing, lock-in effects, and non-price harms, and analyses landmark interventions by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), such as the Google Android, Amazon-Flipkart, and WhatsApp Privacy Policy cases. Judicial oversight is also considered, reflecting growing recognition of data-driven dominance and procedural fairness. The paper further evaluates the proposed Digital Competition Bill, 2024, which introduces ex-ante obligations for Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs) to ensure fairness, transparency, and market contestability. It concludes by recommending a hybrid regulatory model combining legal precision, technological expertise, and proactive governance to sustain innovation while safeguarding competitive neutrality in India’s digital economy.