Google Faces Over Rs. 1330 Crore Fine by CCI for abuse of dominant position in Android mobile market
The Competition Commission on Thursday imposed a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore against Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android mobile device ecosystem. In addition, the fair trade regulator has directed Internet service providers to cease operations and eliminate unfair business practices.
In a statement, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it had also directed Google to amend its conduct within a specified period.
In April 2019, the regulator requested a detailed investigation into the matter after consumer complaints Android-based smartphone domestic. Android is an open source, portable operating system installed by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) of smartphone and tablet.
The allegations of unfair business practices involve two agreements – the Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA) and the Defragmentation Agreement (AFA) – signed by OEMs of the Android operating system with Google.
inside releaseThe regulator said it had imposed a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore against Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android mobile device ecosystem in addition to issuing cease and desist orders. register.
According to the release, CCI states that pre-installation of the entire Google Mobile Suite (GMS) is mandatory under MADA, there is no option to un-install the same, and their prominent placement results in the imposition of unfair conditions on the equipment manufacturer and thereby violate competition laws.
“These obligations are also considered to be of the nature of additional obligations imposed by Google on OEMs and are therefore contrary to Section 4(2)(d) of the Act,” it added.
Section 4 of the Competition Act deals with abuse of a dominant position.
Google has maintained its dominant position in the online search market resulting in denial of market access to competing search applications. In addition, it has leveraged its dominant position in the Android app store market to protect its position in general online search in violation of competition laws.
Furthermore, the CCI notes that the major internet company has leveraged its dominant position in the app store market for the Android operating system to enter as well as defended its position in the non-commercial web browser market. specific to the operating system via Google Chrome application.
“Google has leveraged its dominant position in the Android app store market to enter and defend its position in the Online Video Hosting Platforms (OVHPs) market through YouTube and thereby violated the provisions of Section 4(2)(e) of the Act,” the statement said.
