Dealing with data monopolies is tricky. Data monopolies do stifle competition. One of the charges against Amazon is that it uses data from its suppliers to make products that compete with the products of the suppliers. Amazon knows what sells and at what price points. This puts it at an advantage. However, thinking further, if Amazon overdoes this, who will come forward to sell on its platform.
India expects sharing of non-personal or anonymised data to an agency like Non-personal Data Authority (NDPA) on payment of a sum. Conceptually, it is easy to say and do this. However, sharing of such data leads to the emasculation of the data sharing company. MR costs a fortune but here it is free. Besides, data is collected at great cost. Thus a larger debate is necessary to study the pros and cons of whether this achieves public good.
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