In a submission for the 143rd OECD Competition Committee meeting in June 2024, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) discussed the significance of AI and data in Singapore’s national strategy and gave an indication of potential competition concerns that may arise in the space. CCCS also mentioned efforts to study and develop tools to leverage machine learning (“ML”) and AI for its investigations and enforcement. 

CCCS actively engages with fellow government agencies, international partners and industry stakeholders on technology and AI issues. There is active monitoring of the rapid developments in the AI sector, as well as ongoing efforts by CCCS to equip its officers with ML and AI tools to better analyse and investigate potential competition concerns in this rapidly developing sector.

While significant growth and change is anticipated  across industries with the increased adoption and use of AI and data, organisations will need to ensure that their systems and controls are up-to-date and can keep up with the rapid developments in this area.

Singapore National AI Strategy

Singapore’s national strategy supports the adoption of AI by various industries, attracting talent to research and develop AI solutions in Singapore, and developing and promoting guidelines and frameworks to develop conducive ecosystems for the trusted adoption of AI. Government agencies such as the Personal Data Protection Commission and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (“IMDA”) have published frameworks for developers and regulators to guide the development and review of AI, namely the “Model AI Governance Framework” and the “Model AI Governance Framework for Generative AI”, that have influenced the development of the “ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics”.

The IMDA has also released an open-source AI governance testing framework and software toolkit for organisations to validate their AI systems against AI ethics principles. CCCS is exploring building upon the toolkit to aid organisations in ensuring their systems are compliant with competition laws. 

Potential Competition Concerns arising from AI and Data

CCCS has identified concerns that could arise from the increased use of AI systems and algorithms to make pricing decisions in its Market Study on E-Commerce Platforms, published in 2020. The marked increase in the availability and use of AI systems and algorithms since then have only increased concerns that, intentionally or otherwise, there could be a single-point where data can be shared and there could be coordination of pricing strategies, such as a common service provider for the AI system or algorithm. 

The AI sector, as an industry itself, may also be impacted by competition concerns as smaller providers exit or consolidate and market leaders are established. Ancillary industries which provide equipment, infrastructure and even talent are likely to also face greater scrutiny as demand for them grows and the AI sector gains greater prominence.

CCCS Initiatives

CCCS has established a Data and Digital Division for its work on digital markets and data science. The division’s areas of focus include designing internal technology infrastructure and systems, data analytics for market intelligence to support decision-making, and supporting investigations and studies.

CCCS has also shared that it is developing tools leveraging on ML/AI to improve its enforcement capabilities, including a tool to better process and organise the large volume of complaints for review and analysis by CCCS officers. 

ML/AI tools are also being explored for use in investigations to better analsze datasets such as data from tender documents from Singapore’s procurement portal to help detect potential bid-rigging.

If you need more information or further guidance in this area, please contact Sandra Seah and Jonathan Kao.

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