A critical feature of the Digital Competition Bill is the designation of certain companies as Systematically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs). The criteria for this designation include various quantitative and qualitative parameters such as turnover, user base, and market influence. Specifically, a company would be designated as an SSDE if, in the last three financial years, it has a turnover in India of at least Rs 4,000 crore or a global turnover of at least $30 billion. Other metrics include gross merchandise value in India of at least Rs 16,000 crore or global market capitalization of at least $75 billion. Additionally, the core digital service provided by these companies should have at least 1 crore end users or 10,000 business users.

This designation brings with it stringent obligations. SSDEs are prohibited from engaging in practices like self-preferencing, anti-steering, and restricting third-party applications. Violations could result in hefty fines, up to 10% of a company’s global turnover, amounting to billions of dollars. This framework is designed to prevent dominant firms from leveraging their market position to stifle competition.