CCI imposes Rs 1338 crore fine on Google for anti-competitive practices

21 Oct 2022 , 08:20 AM

On Thursday, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined Google Rs1,337.76 crore for abusing its position of market dominance with its Android mobile operating system (OS) and imposed a number of key regulations that the corporation must follow.

The regulator argued against requiring Android device manufacturers to pre-install Google services on their products. Additionally, it urged Google to grant equal access to all interested parties.

According to the CCI order, “Google shall not restrict access to its Play Services APIs to disadvantage OEMs (mobile makers), app developers, and its current or potential rivals.”

According to CCI, it is the responsibility of market leaders like Google to make sure that their behavior doesn’t undermine fair competition. It was stated that Google has maintained its hegemony in the internet search business, denying other apps access to the market. It has allegedly violated competition law by using its dominating position in the Android app store industry to defend its position in general web search.

Following concerns from users of Android-based devices in the nation in April 2019, the regulator commissioned a thorough investigation. The open-source mobile operating system installed on smartphones and tablets by OEMs is called Android. The case centres on the different contracts Google has with mobile device manufacturers for the use of Android. Mobile carriers are constrained by these agreements’ terms and conditions, which force them to disregard Google’s competitors’ offerings.

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