India's Antitrust Body Finds Google Is Abusing Its Market Dominance: What's Next?

Google is now facing more heat in India after India's antitrust agency said that the tech behemoth indulges in anti-competitive practices in the mobile operating system market.?

The findings were revealed by the investigation body of Competition Commission of India (CCI), which also accused the American tech giant of pursuing restrictive trade practices in India.The investigation was initiated more than two years ago in April 2019 to get a clearer picture of how Google dominated the Indian smartphone market with 98 per cent share.?

What did the investigation reveal?

The probe found that Google India stifles competition and innovation to maintain its monopoly in the digital ecosystem through its array of services including YouTube, Google Chrome and Google Play Store.According to the Times of India, the report runs into 750 pages and accuses Google of forcing contracts onto device makers and app developers to ensure its own products from the same domain are prioritised within the ecosystem.?

Reuters

One way to do this is by preinstalling all the apps on all devices, which automatically gets user preference.The report found Google to be guilty of multiple excesses of the Competition Act.?

Also read:?EU Wants Apple's iOS, Google's Android To Provide Software Updates For Seven Years

The variety of charges include abuse of dominance, denial of access to market competitors, limiting scientific development which harms the customer.If found guilty by the CCI, Google could face penalties in India and be forced to discontinue its practices that stifle competition.?

AFP

The scathing report also explains how Google uses its industry monopoly to give "sharper" results to its users in India while using the search engine. In addition, the CCI found that Google forces phone developers to preload all of Google's apps into their version of Android OS if they go beyond the bare version of the OS.

Also read:?South Korea Law Bans Apple, Google's App Store Commission: Can India Learn From It?

AFP

Currently, Google is facing antitrust probes across the world - from the United States to South Korea to the European Union and now India. In fact, South Korea recently fined Google $177 million for preventing customisations on its Android OS in the country. They also found the company to be engaging in anti-competition practices in the country.? ?

We think it's about time Google was held accountable in India. If you agree, don't forget to comment below.

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