Google’s Second Fine In India In Less Than A Week. Bill: Rs 936 Crores
Google was fined Rs 936.44 by the Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday, the second time in less than a week, totaling a total of Rs 2,274, for abusing its dominant position on the Door policy. Play store and ordered the tech giant to stop engaging in unfair trade practices.
Following another antitrust investigation this month, the US tech company was found guilty of abusing its dominant market position to promote payment apps and in-app payment systems, according to the CCI on Tuesday. .
CCI tweeted that they have fined Google for anti-competitive practices related to their Play Store policies.
Number of cases 07 in 2020, 14 in 2021 and 35 in 2021
CCI imposed a fine of ₹936.44 Crore against Google for anti-competitive practices related to Play Store policies.
Read the full order here: https://t.co/GDR820ffYg
Press Release: https://t.co/7HEPJeHVK3#Antitrustpic.twitter.com/TbTa6vbCXl– CCI (@CCI_India) October 25, 2022
That happened after CCI was penalized 1,337.76 crore by Google for Android-related anti-competitive practices last Thursday.
App stores are required for developers to distribute their apps to end users, and the availability of the app store(s) is directly related to the operating system (OS) available on smart device.
From understanding the market dynamics for mobile operating systems available for licensing in India, Google’s Android operating system has successfully reaped the benefits of indirect network effects.
CCI said that the main software distribution channel of the Android mobile ecosystem is Google’s Play Store, which allows owners to profit from applications released to the market.
Per Google Play Store policy, app developers must exclusively use the Google Play Payments System (GPBS) to accept payment for apps distributed or sold through the Google Play Store and for some in-app purchases.
In addition, app developers cannot include words that encourage users to purchase digital items outside of the app or include a direct in-app link to a website that accepts a payment method. alternative, known as the counter-direction clause.
According to its assessment, the Indian watchdog concluded that Google dominates the Indian market in terms of app stores for Android smart mobile operating systems and licensable operating systems for mobile devices. Smart behavior, forcing application developers to use GPBS is unfair and arbitrary.
The huge pool of potential Android customers will be lost if app developers don’t follow Google’s GPBS usage policy and aren’t allowed to advertise their apps on the Play Store, the CCI said. lacks any real economic reason to need GPBS to use to access the Play Store for premium apps and in-app purchases.
The watchdog added that the option to choose a preferred payment processor from the open market has been removed from app creators.
Google has yet to comment on the latest penalty.
Following last week’s CCI penalty, Google said on Friday that the penalty was “a major setback for Indian consumers and businesses” and that the company would review the decision to evaluate the issues. next step.