IAMAI vs Indian Startups: Indian start-ups distance themselves from IAMAI, call it ‘pro-Big Tech’

Perhaps in the first such instance, founders of several Indian start-ups are raising their voices against industry body, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). They have accused it of promoting “pro-foreign” Big Tech views on government regulations and other contentious matters.

Founded around 20 years ago, the IAMAI is a non-profit organisation that aims to represent the digital services industry. It has over 500 Indian and multinational corporations, including digital platforms, as its members. Some Indian entrepreneurs have now criticised IAMAI and accused it of promoting the interests of Big Tech companies such as Google and Meta.

Rohan Verma, CEO and executive director, MapmyIndia, took to Twitter to say that IAMAI’s top positions are held by executives of Google and Meta. Currently, Sanjay Gupta, country head and vice president of Google India, and Shivnath Thukral, public policy director-India at WhatsApp Inc, lead the industry body as its chairperson and vice chairperson, respectively.  

“Sad to see an org originally founded by and for Indian companies taken over & now promoting a false narrative. IAMAI views & submissions to govt & media on digital policies, regulations, laws etc are completely wrong and antithetical to what Indians – consumers, industry, and government – need,” Verma tweeted. 

IAMAI did not respond to Business Standard’s requests for comment till the time of publishing this report.

In recent times, several start-ups have expressed their disagreement with IAMAI about its submission in public consultations on government policies.

For instance, during the consultation on online gaming rules, the industry body had submitted that the scope of the rules had been poorly thought out and that certain aspects needed a re-look.

According to media reports, leading gaming firms later wrote to the government that IAMAI’s statement did not align with their views and they weren’t consulted before a statement on this “important matter” was issued.

Some start-ups have also criticised the industry body for its draft feedback on the digital competition Bill. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had formed a committee on the Digital Competition Law in line with the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance on anti-competitive practices by Big Tech. According to media reports, IAMAI is likely to submit that the Digital Competition Act might adversely impact start-ups by stifling innovation, competition and investments.

“Lies! Start-ups are strongly in favour of a strong anti-monopoly Digital Act. In fact, IAMAI is a failing lobby for BigTech propaganda & misinformation … India @CCI_India & @PMOIndia know better,” Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of People Group, tweeted.

Some other start-ups have also alleged that IAMAI did not represent them on their disagreements with Google on the issues of in-app billing and Play Store’s updated policy of charging up to 26 per cent service fees on payments made through the user choice billing systems. The Alliance of Digital India Foundation has filed a case in the Delhi High Court on behalf of start-ups demanding user choice billing.

Verma has demanded that IAMAI should either immediately change its policies or it should not be given any credence.