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A group of internet startups and venture capitalists are said to have considered asking India's Competition Commission to oppose Facebook's investment in the Reliance-owned digital entity Jio Platforms, citing data-sharing concerns. and misuse. According to a Mint report citing anonymous sources aware of the facts, the appeal must be filed with the ICC within a few days, even if the ICC itself is considering a suo motu review of the agreement. The names of the new companies filing the appeal have not been provided. It should be recalled that in April Jio announced an investment of €5.7 billion (Facebook Rs 43,574 crore) for a 9.99% stake in the major telecom company led by Mukesh Ambani. The report had mentioned that Naspers Ventures was one of those likely to approach the antitrust watchdog. The South African internet giant, however, denied this claim. In addition to external startups, the deal should also have an impact on companies that Jio Platforms and Facebook are already in separate relationships with. Facebook has invested in social commerce company Meesho and online learning company Unacademy. Jio, for its part, has made more than ten investments in Internet companies such as Fynd, EasyGov and Embibe. Facebook, in its application to the ICC, had asserted that the settlement did not change the competitive landscape in any relevant markets. Facebook formed a separate subsidiary "Jaadhu Holdings" for the transaction, and in its filing with CCI, it said: "The proposed transaction and proposed business agreement are pro-competitive, benefit consumers, Kirana stores (convenience stores) and other small and local Indian micro-enterprises, and advancing the vision of digital India."
Questions about data privacy
Since the day the deal between the two big boys was announced, data privacy warriors have raised a red flag that both companies have access to vast amounts of data. Facebook has over 328 million users in India while Jio has around 380 million active users. Reliance Retail and Whatsapp, owned by Facebook, have also entered into a business partnership in which the Reliance Retail Jio Mart platform will support small businesses on Whatsapp. And WhatsApp now has more than 400 million users in India. Justice BN Srikrishna, the chief architect of India's data privacy law, has spoken about privacy concerns arising from the Reliance Jio-Facebook deal. He said: "This is a strategic investment. A strategic investment, by definition, means that it is an investment intended to further the business interests of the issuing entity, as well as the investor." The agreement was also seen as discriminating against competition in the e-commerce segment by monopolizing data. It has been claimed that it will hit the domestic and hype direct platforms in the long run. In general, it will be a great blow to net neutrality, was one of the arguments. Speaking of net neutrality, Facebook has already had a bitter experience in India. In 2015, Facebook and Reliance Communications, led by Anil Ambani, forged a partnership to offer Free Basics in India, a plan that promised free internet but bundled it with a multitude of digital products and services. However, India's telecoms regulator TRAI found it "discriminatory" because it violated net neutrality standards, after which service in the country was discontinued. As the two companies move forward with the new deal, the ball is now in the courts of the ICC and the Indian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to investigate whether the deal violates a law or a standard. Via: mint