The UPI payments space is in for its biggest shift yet

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal.Around 10 years ago, back when the Blackberry Messenger (BBM) was still prevalent, I remember trying to persuade a friend of mine to get himself a Blackberry phone so that we could chat on BBM. He countered me saying that WhatsApp (emerging at the time) would overtake BBM soon enough. It was free, worked across multiple platforms and did not require people to be on Blackberry. At the time, I could not take him seriously. BBM was here to stay. I have never been more wrong.Earlier this week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) dismissed an anti-trust case against WhatsApp Pay. WhatsApp has been trying to launch a payments feature for a while now, and it is currently in beta, shared with a small share of users. The order by CCI is forty-one pages long, but the basis for the dismissal is that UPI payments apps are an evolving market. Currently, when the feature is in beta, it is implausible to assume that “WhatsApp Pay will automatically get a considerable market share based on pre-installation”.

Reining in platforms like Facebook

In December 2015 the founder and Chief Executive of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, wrote passionately in The Times of India why it was important to give free access to internet. He was promoting the idea of ‘Free Basics’ launched by Facebook. It would give free access to basic internet services to all Indians. No charge would be applied for data use by the telecom company to access Facebook and a few other sites. Facebook would pay directly to the telecom company for the data. It was what he called a bridge to full internet access. It would close the digital divide. It would lead to digital equality. He claimed that full internet access would lift millions out of poverty. He compared this free service to provision of free basic health or education. It was a persuasive pitch.Unfortunately for him, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) turned it down. Why would TRAI turn down a free service being offered by the social media giant? The answer is subtle but very important. While some free access to internet is better than no access, the Facebook free offer was giving access to only certain websites. Thus the poor who opted for Free Basics would be able to roam only where Facebook allowed them to roam. This curtails a more basic kind of freedom, i.e. freedom to roam the internet. And all other smaller websites would have to pay Facebook to enter this “walled garden”. This is opposite to the principle of net neutrality. A profitmaking organisation like Facebook was offering “free services” because it hoped to make those free customers become sticky and paying customers, in the future. It was like a “foot in the door” policy, giving freebies in the beginning, that any monopoly uses to oust competitors. Once it has hundreds of millions of users inside the “walled garden”, it would charge monopoly pricing to those who wanted to access those customers. It would become a gatekeeper to a privately owned corner of the internet. Thanks to a nationwide people’s campaign for net neutrality, the Facebook plan for Free Basics failed. Read More

Forget TikTok, what India must focus on is semiconductors

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal.In case you have been following the news, developments around TikTok are hard to look away from. The app has been associated with Twitter, Apple, and Microsoft. Closer home, reports have surfaced claiming that ByteDance is in talks with Reliance for investment in the short video app. While news around TikTok’s future is catchy, it takes away from the more significant shifts that are currently occurring in the global technology landscape.I am specifically talking about semiconductors.

India needs to be more mindful in regulating non-personal data

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal.In September 2019, the Indian Government formed a committee chaired by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan to look at the regulation for non-personal data. The committee recently came out with a governance framework, comments to which can be submitted by August 13.As far as I can tell, the committee is one of the first efforts in the world to exclusively look at non-personal data, which itself is a vast term. Non-personal data refers to the universe minus personal data. This can include a company’s financials, information on a country’s infrastructure projects, traffic data and so on. Besides, unlike the mandate to regulate personal data, where the goal is to put more power in the hands of the users, the committee is tasked exclusively with unlocking the value of non-personal data.

Why Amazon, Apple, FB and Google are in the dock. It’s not just about economy

There was quite a bit of symbolism when the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google appeared before the anti-trust committee of the House of Representatives of the US Congress last week. Here were the heads of the world’s most valuable companies, captains of the tech industry and some of the world’s richest men summoned to defend themselves before elected representatives of the world’s most powerful state.

All four men looked suitably humble and contrite. They even dispensed with their trademark Silicon Valley superhero costumes for the sober formal suit — well, at least on their visible upper bodies. So, here was the State demonstrating its supremacy over private companies, with the richest merchants of the kingdom bowing before the monarch’s court.

Yet, the hearing itself was conducted using a videoconferencing application over broadband internet, demonstrating just how dependent the modern State is on technology companies. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic — and indeed because of it — the four companies have outperformed the rest of the US economy. Together they are currently worth almost $5 trillion. On the day of the anti-trust hearing, they, together with Microsoft, represented over 20 per cent of the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock market index. Such a concentration of wealth is extraordinary and has taken place after 42 years. As for ordinary citizens, as a New York Times journalist admitted, it is impossible to live without using the technology and services they provide.Read more

What we learned from the US antitrust inquiry

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal.This week gave us one of the most significant developments in antitrust that we have had in a long time. The CEOs of Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook publicly sat down for an antitrust inquiry. As a general principle, I try to stick to developments that can have the most significant impact in India. However, the issue with technology, and with events such as this, is that they can have ripple effects in how these companies operate around the world (including India).Before the hearing began, two major points struck me. Firstly, it seemed a bit unfair that all four CEOs had to be questioned at the same time. Given how different the nature of each company is, it did not seem fair to address them all in six hours. Secondly, I predicted that going by an Apple commissioned report, the hearing might be an exercise in cross-talking.

Are we seeing the beginnings of an ‘Indian internet’?

Almost a month ago, the Ministry of Information Technology took the unprecedented step of banning 59 apps/services on the purported grounds that these services were prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India. At the time it was unclear what a ban entailed and how it would be implemented and/or enforced.

However, the subsequent weeks between companies voluntarily suspending their services, Apple and Google de-listing them from their respective app stores and telecom service providers being ordered to block these apps, the ban has been 'technically' enforced from the perspective of an average user that may not want to navigate the world of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and TOR. So, for now, it appears that we have the answer to the second question.

Reports now suggest that 47 more apps could be facing a ban with another 275 being monitored closely.

Forests, trees and branches of the internet

In the context of the stand-off between India and China, these moves have and will be portrayed as a strong response to China. As Alex Stamos (former CSO at Facebook) of Stanford's Internet Observatory illustrates there are several overlapping considerations - many of these are applicable to India too.

Thus, as far as the future of the internet in India (and even the world) goes, these developments cannot be viewed in isolation. And must be looked at in combination with recent events in India, its stated position on cyber sovereignty as well as global trends.

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iPhone 11 is now ‘Made in India’, but Modi govt must see it doesn’t get too taxing for Apple

If you purchased an iPhone 11 recently, chances are that you have in your hands a smartphone assembled in India. After over a year of speculation on whether or not Apple will assemble its top-of-the-line product from a factory in India, news emerged last week that the iPhone 11 has indeed been “Made in India” at its contract manufacturer Foxconn’s plant near Chennai. This is good news that the Narendra Modi government can well claim as a success. But it’s important to understand why it is good news and what kind of success it is, to ensure that new government policies do not undermine this achievement. Read more  

Apple’s Anti-trust Hearing May Be an Exercise in Cross Talking

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal.In an event that is set to send sparks flying throughout the global tech ecosystem, the CEOs of Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook have agreed to testify to the American Congress for an anti-trust inquiry. Even before the inquiry, there has been cynicism around whether it is a good idea at all to have Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg answering questions so close to each other. Because all of these companies have very different business models, the limited time is likely not going to be enough to achieve a lot.Each of the four companies has been labelled as potentially ‘too big’ and arguments have been made in favour of breaking them up. But it is only Apple that comes to the event with a very recent chip on its shoulder. The App Store was involved in a very public fight with Basecamp around whether an app by the developer should be allowed on to the platform without paying the 30% cut that Apple charges.

The Personal Data Protection Bill in the context of the Twitter hack

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal.In case you have not been following the news, earlier this week, Twitter was the subject of a very public data breach. A lot of very high profile accounts were hacked, including Elon Musk, Barack Obama, and Apple. There is, of course, wider context to it. The hack itself is a symptom of malicious user behaviour on Twitter and historically lax responses to it. In case you want to know more about this, Casey Newton’s newsletter ‘The Interface’ is a great place to start.The short of the matter is that hacks are relatively common on the platform, as is spying. Twitter has a chequered history with cybersecurity. There have been several bitcoin-related scams as well as spying missions that were carried out on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I wish I could say that Twitter is the only company that undergoes these trials, but sadly that is not the truth. Cybersecurity incidents are fairly common and do not make the news as often as they should.

Understanding Implications of Hong Kong’s Tech Ecosystem Changes for India

This article was first published in Deccan Herald. Views are personal.While the pandemic rages on, the Chinese leadership in Beijing has tightened its control over Hong Kong. Earlier in 2019, the region saw fierce protests take place regarding an extradition bill. Now, Chinese lawmakers have voted to adopt the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.The law came into force by being added to Annex III of the Basic Law (de facto Constitution of Hong Kong) and hence was not debated in Hong Kong’s legislature. There had been plenty of speculation about the dynamics of the move and how that reflects on China itself. But since the law has been put into place, it has met with sharp responses, especially within the tech community.

Data is not national wealth, must not be regulated in same manner

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal.Over the last few years in tech policy, one thing has been clear. There is a strong tendency within the Government to view the data as a national asset, akin to say, the Indian Railways. This has been an inherent line of reasoning in multiple draft and actual policies. Former Foreign Secretary said something similar in a G20 summit last year in a G20 summit, claiming that data is a new form of wealth.The idea broadly is that data is the new oil (an analogy that I am not a fan of). Thanks to our large population size, India generates a lot of data. Hence, that data must be protected, controlled, and utilised by Indian companies for our development.

Banning TikTok is another nail on coffin of internet exceptionalism

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal.This has been a busy week for the internet. Earlier this week, India banned TikTok (along with 58 other apps from China). This was followed by Airtel and Jio blocking access to DuckDuckGo (a privacy-first search engine). If we zoom out, there is a strong argument to be made that both of these developments are part of a larger pattern. That is, both these developments are detrimental to the special status we have afforded the internet for so long.

Modi govt’s silence on China gave ‘satellite warriors’ a free run. India will rue the damages

The Ladakh stand-off has boosted transparency, for it has given greater visibility to a species of information soldiers who could be described as ‘Satellite Warriors’. These individuals, who are mostly housed in either think tanks or media, are increasingly the main sources of satellite imagery, informing the Indian and international public about China’s military moves. Their interpretations based on commercially available satellite imagery often vary from the official descriptions of the situation on the ground. Without any official interpretations contradicting their claim, the satellite warriors are having a free run while Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements, even if they refer only to Galwan, are increasingly looking like lies attempting to hide in plain sight. You can find the article here

After the Indian Ban on 59 Chinese Apps, What Comes Next?

As the clock ticked towards 9 PM on the night of June 29, the talk of Internet in India was the Ministry of Electronics and IT’s press release indicating that 59 apps would be banned. The stated reason for this ban was that they were engaged in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.The common thread among these apps is that they are of ‘Chinese origin’ even though that isn’t explicitly mentioned in the government’s banning order.How it could be implementedFor now, let’s set aside the question of whether the ban is a fitting response to the killing of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan, Ladakh on June 15, and whether it is justified or not. What is likely to happen from here is that the Google Play Store and iOS App Store will be asked to de-list the apps from their Indian storefronts. There is precedent for this when a ban on TikTok was ordered by the Madras High Court.Read more

Apple v Basecamp: We need to separate gatekeeper from toll collector

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle.In his book Super Pumped (a biography of Uber), Mike Isaac argues that App Store and Play Store give Apple and Google, respectively, the power to destroy multi-billion dollar companies. So when Travis Kalanick (then CEO of Uber) was charged with breaking some of the rules of App Store, and he managed to survive a meeting with Tim Cook without getting Uber kicked out of App Store, he felt like he could survive anything. When it comes to App Store, and the millions of developers and apps working on it, Apple is god.

Encouraging small sellers to get online must be a policy priority

The article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal. At least 20% of Indian retailers were likely to wind up their business in the coming months. Because of restrictions in movement, it is hard for small sellers to maintain demand, and the only possible solution to that is to move online. Doing so at a national scale will expand the consumer base and better equip retailers to handle logistics.While moving online is a widely accepted solution for sellers, it comes at a monetary and compliance cost. If small retailers are to survive the pandemic, costs of moving online will need to be mitigated. Currently, instead of an incentive to move online, the pre-COVID tax regime has inadvertently installed exist entry barriers that act as a deterrent.

Now is the time for misinformation reform

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle. Views are personal.One of the most evident changes brought about by the pandemic has been accelerated shifting our interactions online. This involves turning to the web not just our engagements with friends or colleagues, but also for questions and comments about the virus and the developments around it. For instance, running Google searches on whether the virus can spread through water, or engaging on Twitter about the latest numbers and how they can be controlled.Like many such transitions, there are multiple anticipated second-order effects of increased user interaction on platforms. Firstly, an increased number of searches around COVID-19 provides advertisers with an incentive to leverage that to their advantage. This includes advertising false cures for the virus, or masks, or immunity boosters. In addition, it also includes using controversial targeting options (such as anti-vaccine groups) to sell products.

Removing Chinese apps from your phone is the opposite of self-reliance

This article was first published in Deccan Chronicle.The most important takeaway from Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman’s insights from ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’ is that the human brain has two systems, System one and System two. The former is good at ‘fast thinking’, which relies on our instincts and emotions to come to conclusions quickly. Kahneman refers to the latter as slow thinking, which is more deliberate and logical in its approach.If I ask you to compute two plus two for me, System one will immediately throw up the answer. But if I ask you to manually multiply five thousand nine hundred four by twenty-eight thousand four hundred and ninety, you will automatically engage System two.  There are some tasks to which System one is better suited, while there are others for which you need to rely on System two. When you end up using the wrong system for the wrong task, you will likely end up with the wrong answer.Read more.

How Covid-19 Changes the Geopolitics of Semiconductor Supply Chains

On May 15, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) — a semiconductor manufacturing behemoth that makes Apple’s A-series chips — announced its plans to build a $12 billion plant in the state of Arizona. On the same day, it was reported that TSMC has stopped taking new orders from Huawei to fully comply with the latest export control regulation imposed by the US. These are significant shifts in the semiconductor industry. We have an analysis of why these changes are happening and more importantly, why are they happening now.We argue that the economics of semiconductors — turbocharged by efficient and lean global supply chains — has made it a viable geopolitical tool. The US-China confrontation over Huawei is just one manifestation of this confrontation over semiconductors. COVID-19 only exacerbates this contestation. We evaluate four specific risks and write that COVID-19 will change the resilience-efficiency trade-off in the semiconductor industry. National governments and the geopolitical environment will be the key drivers of this transformation.The full article can be read on South China Morning Post here.