Overlap of Competition Law and Data Privacy Law in India

In India’s rapidly evolving digital economy, the boundaries between competition law and data privacy law are becoming increasingly porous. Traditionally, data protection and antitrust frameworks operated in separate legal silos with one focusing on individual privacy rights and lawful processing of personal data, and the other on ensuring fair competition in the marketplace. However, digital platforms that accumulate and leverage vast troves of user information now sit at the intersection of both regimes. 

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) recognises the centrality of data to economic growth while seeking to protect personal information, setting the stage for regulatory overlap with the Competition Act, 2002 and emerging digital competition norms. The article analyses how provisions around consent and limitations on excessive data collection can echo competition concerns especially where dominant platforms with “must-use” services may impose unfair or exclusionary terms disguised as privacy practices. 

The article examines how the two laws approach consent-seeking mechanisms, profiling activities, and, in particular, the vendor–vendee disputes that may arise between a data fiduciary and a data processor due to differing obligations under the DPDP Act. It also explores how such conflicts may, in certain circumstances, run afoul of the Competition Act, 2002. 

While both legal structures pursue distinct objectives, their enforcement may run in parallel for instance, where consent mechanisms or data-use restrictions under the DPDP Act dovetail with competition norms against abuse of dominance. Companies face the practical challenge of navigating multiple, complementary regulatory obligations, ensuring compliance not only with privacy principles but also with fair competition imperatives in data-driven markets. 

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