Summary: At a recent thought leadership session on “Navigating Change: A Strategic Overview on Geopolitics, Regulation & AI“, our partner Ankoosh K. Mehta engaged in a lively conversation about New Age Disputes with Bhart Forge President and Group Counsel Vikram Munje. The article below is a synopsis of that discussion.
Shaped by data, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), assisted by chatbots, and pushed to the brink by climate change, the new world is bringing in a new genre of disputes to the courtrooms and the regulatory system.
In December 2023, The New York Times sued OpenAI and its partner Microsoft for appropriating billions of dollars’ worth of its copyrighted material to train chatbots, risking the reputation and livelihood of its journalists and undercutting its business model. In May 2025, the court ordered OpenAI to preserve all ChatGPT conversation log indefinitely, including deleted conversations, as part of the ongoing litigation. In June 2025, OpenAI said it was appealing against the order, on the grounds that order conflicts with the privacy commitments made to users.
Example of such disputes can be found closer home as well. In November 2024, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined Meta INR 213.14 crore (approximately $25M) for abusing its dominant market position through their 2021 Privacy Policy. The CCI imposed a five-year ban on WhatsApp’s data-sharing, calling its policies unfair under the Competition Act, 2002. It said that WhatsApp’s “take-it-or-leave-it” approach to force users to share data through Meta to continue using the app was “undermining consumer choice and distorting digital advertising competition”.
This case brought to the fore the blurry lines between Competition Law and Data Privacy Law. In January 2025, Meta appealed to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which subsequently granted it interim relief by lifting the five-year CCI ban, stating that it could affect WhatsApp’s business model in India. The final hearing is slated for August 2025.
Data is the most precious entity for consumers and service providers alike and a dominant source of market power. However, ambiguities persist regarding how much data is private; how much can be shared; and how much control or choice users have, when it comes to sharing or deleting data.
Data plays a significant role across employer-employee issues, banks, insurance companies. Organizations are left vulnerable to data infringement because they hold so much sensitive data. To further complicate matters, Covid left in its aftermath the problem of moonlighting or side hustle. The remote working environment facilitated a new beast that has become a burden for corporations in terms of employment law enforcement, provident fund contributions, conflict of interest and data-sharing with competitors and industrial espionage. This practice has put enterprises at risk, straining the employer-employee relationship, thereby making it difficult to regulate such practices. In the recent case of Vijaya Bank & Ors. v. Prashant B. Narnaware, the question of enforceability of the employment bond requiring the employee to pay damages in case of early resignation, was upheld by the Supreme Court.
Climate change is an ongoing debate and a close examination of disputes arising in this sector is likely to reveal sufficient evidence related to shareholder activism. Environmental issues are considered important and Indian Courts are actively addressing them. In March 2024, the Supreme Court in India delivered a pivotal judgment in Ranjitsinh & Ors v. Union of India & Ors., ruling that freedom from the harmful effects of climate change is a fundamental right.
Another hotbed for disputes is India’s requirement for technologies or technical assistance from neighboring countries such as China, which require entering into contracts with these service providers. These pose several contract issues for Indian companies, especially in the infrastructure and electronics sectors.
Disputes have further escalated, following the implementation of the new tariff regime. In cross-border contracts, International Commercial Terms, or Incoterms, play a huge role when supplying goods. Companies affected by these international sanctions are facing disruptions in their supply chains, leading to difficulties in contract execution and increased litigation.
Legal processes are increasingly getting dictated by technology. The extent of its influence is evident in the India’s new criminal laws, which incorporate provisions for collecting evidence and advancing forensic investigations through digital means. With the growing need to test and adopt new technologies, are our courts equipped to leverage AI in judicial processes so as to expedite case resolution? Ultimately, issues related to data privacy, ethical considerations, and data accuracy must be addressed before judicial trust is placed on algorithmic decision-making.
For further information, please contact:
Ankoosh Mehta, Partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
ankoosh.mehta@cyrilshroff.com
