The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered Google not to offer any incentives to smartphone makers to exclusively run its search services.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has fined Google for “abusing its dominant position” in several segments of the Android mobile device ecosystem in the country. 1,337.76 crore ($162 million) as an interim penalty.
The antitrust watchdog said Google abused its dominant position in licensing its operating system for smart mobile devices, the Android smartphone app market, general web search services, non-operating system-specific mobile web browsers, and online video hosting platforms.
The CCI also issued a cease and desist order to the tech giant for several business practices. For example, Google states that it should not deny “compatible” original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) access to its Play Services plugins and that licensing the Play Store to OEMs should not be tied to a requirement to pre-install Google Search or Chrome. . Browser, YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail or any other Google app.
CCI said Google should allow users to choose their default search engine during the initial device setup. He urged Google not to limit the ability of app developers to distribute their apps through sideloading – offering their apps outside of the Google Play store. Google has long warned users against sideloading apps, which is important because it marks them as a potential security threat.
Google faces antitrust cases in India. The competition watchdog is also looking into Google’s business practices in the smart TV market and its in-app payments system.
In 2019, the CCI ordered a detailed investigation into complaints from Android smartphone users. Android is an open-source mobile operating system installed by smartphone and tablet OEMs.
According to the CCI, Google maintains additional licenses alongside the Android operating system, giving it the advantage over its competitors in pre-installing popular search entry points such as search apps, widgets, and the Chrome browser on Android devices. In addition, Google has gained a significant competitive advantage over its other revenue-generating applications, such as YouTube, on Android devices.
“Competitors of these services will never be able to enjoy the same level of market access that Google secures and embeds through MADA (Mobile Application Distribution Agreement) network effects, or status-biased markets that create significant barriers to entry for Google’s competitors. enter or operate,” the CCI said in its order…
Google did not respond to requests for comment.
In September 2021, after the CCI’s preliminary findings report on Google was leaked, the company initiated legal action against the regulator. This is the second time the CCI has fined the tech giant. In 2018, Google was fined Rs 136 million for unfair business practices in the Indian online search market.
The amount of the CCI fine against Google is significantly lower compared to the penalties imposed on Google in other jurisdictions. In 2017, the European Commission fined Google €2.42 billion for violating European Union antitrust rules after it found that the company abused its dominant market position as a search engine by giving illegal advantages to another Google product, its comparison service goods. This year, the European Court of Justice’s General Court largely upheld the EU executive’s 2018 decision to fine Google more than 4 billion euros ($3.99 billion).
