Indian Government To Penalise Google For Antitrust Violations

NEW DELHI: According to a report, the Centre is considering taking legal action against Alphabet Inc.'s Google for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour by abusing its market position. Google's violation of anti-trust laws, according to Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, "is worrisome, not just for us, it's worrisome for the entire digital ecosystem in India."

Google was fined $275 million (Rs 1,338 crore) in October 2022 by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for abusing its dominant position in the Android operating system market and pressuring developers to utilise its in-app payment mechanism. The competition watchdog stated at the time that it had been determined that Google's business was driven by the "ultimate intent of increasing users on its platforms."

According to Chandrasekhar, the Indian government would take its own measures against Google because these discoveries are "serious" and "deeply concerning."

“The ministry has to take action,” Chandrasekhar said. “We have thought through it. You will see it in the coming weeks. Certainly, it’s not something that we will leave and push under the carpet.”

According to the report, the minister declined to say what kind of legislative or regulatory measures the government might adopt.

A court in India ruled in March that CCI's conclusions regarding Google's anti-competitive behaviour in the Android market were accurate, despite the fact that the payments case is currently on appeal.

According to the survey, 97% of India's 620 million cell phones use the Android operating system, and the business considers India to be a crucial growth area.

According to the report, charges have also been filed against other businesses in India, including Apple and Amazon, for alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

The owner of Tinder, Match Group, and other startups have complained that Google's new service fee system for in-app purchases violates the competition commission's October judgement. As a result, India's competition watchdog has opened a new investigation into Google.

In other countries as well, Google is under fire for its corporate practices. The internet giant has already been penalised by the European Commission for violating anti-trust laws by abusing its market dominance as a search engine by giving an unfair advantage to another Google product, its comparison shopping tool. The cost for this offence was $2.42 billion.

Also Read: Fiji's Highest Civilian Honour Presented To PM Modi

Also Watch: