The intersection of competition law and data privacy aligns closely with user protection and empowerment. While the Competition Act, 2002 is designed to preserve market competitiveness, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), empowers individuals by ensuring lawful collection and processing of their personal data.

With the enactment of the DPDP Act, it is timely to discuss how the two laws coalesce and complement one another rather than conflict with each other.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) recently issued its first-ever order under the newly launched Settlements and Commitments regime in the Android TV Case (Kshitiz Arya & Ors vs Google LLC). This order marks a watershed procedural moment as it represents the debut settlement application under the fresh enforcement framework.