AI has potential to enable collusion: CCI chief

Emphasising the need for a forward-looking approach and trust-based regulations, Competition Commission of India (CCI) Chairperson Ravneet Kaur on Sunday highlighted artificial intelligence (AI) as a key driver of modern markets while warning that it could also facilitate collusion, including algorithmic discrimination under the guise of dynamic pricing.

Delivering the special address at the 10th National Conference on Economics of Competition Law in New Delhi, Kaur noted that AI is shaping pricing strategies, decision-making and operational efficiencies across industries, but also poses risks.

“Artificial intelligence is a driving force in modern markets,” she said, adding that AI can enable new forms of collusion, such as “cartels without human communication, price coordination without explicit agreements and algorithmic discrimination disguised as dynamic pricing”.

She emphasised that traditional enforcement models, which rely on adversarial approaches, were no longer sufficient to address the complexities of evolving markets. The CCI is already conducting a study on AI and competition, she said, calling for a more collaborative regulatory strategy.

“The competitive landscape today is shaped by platform economies, network effects and algorithm-driven decision-making,” Kaur said, adding that market power is increasingly defined by data control, network effects and platform reach.

The goal, she stressed, is to strike a balance between innovation and competition to ensure fair and open markets.

Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Harsh Malhotra, addressing the conference organised by the CCI, underscored the need for real-time market monitoring to maintain fair competition.

Providing an update on enforcement under the Competition Act, 2002, Kaur revealed that the CCI has received over 1,300 antitrust cases to date, of which 1,180 have been disposed of.

In 2024 alone, the regulator received 42 antitrust cases, with prima facie violations found in eight, leading to detailed investigations.

“As many as 19 cases were closed at the prima facie stage due to no violation, while 15 cases are at various stages of inquiry,” she said. Additionally, the CCI received 128 combination notices last year, of which 126 were disposed of. In two cases, approvals were granted with remedies to safeguard competition.