India’s competition authority fined Google $161.9 million on Thursday for anti-competitive acts referring to Android mobile apps in “different places.” This is a big setback for the search engine in a key overseas market where it has invested billions over the last ten years.
Three and a half years ago, when two junior associates and a law school student did complain about Google. The Competition Commission of India looked into it. The commission did post a directive calling Google’s demand that manufacturers pre-install the full Google Mobile Suite and also prominently display Google’s android apps “unfair terms getting imposition on the device producers” and “violating the provisions of S.
India has the most Google users of any country in the world. Market research firm Counterpoint says that 97% of the 600 million mobile devices in use in the country run Google’s Android OS.
Google plans to invest $10 billion into the economy of South Asia in 2020. Indian telecom giants Jio Platforms and Airtel are already getting up to $5.5 billion placed into them.
Last year, when a draught of the report’s findings get out to the public. The response of the competition regulator did make headlines on its own. Google has filed a lawsuit against the government agency because the study is first did leak. It says that the leak is a “breach of confidence” that hurts both Google and its partners.
Section 4(2)(e) of the Act says that Google did something illegal by utilizing its dominant position in the Android apps market to enter and protect its position in the web browser market for devices that did not run a specific operating system. It is done through the Google Chrome App.
Google did break Section 4(2)(e) of the Act by using its dominant position in the Android OS app store market to enter and protect its position in the OVHPs market through YouTube.
By tying the signing of an AFA/ACC to the pre-installation of Google’s proprietary apps on all Android devices, distributed. Sold by device manufacturers, Google has limited technical or scientific development to the detriment of consumers, in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The regulator needs to investigate Google has monopoly in India in the markets for smartphone operating systems, and app stores. Web search engines, mobile web browsers that don’t require a specific OS, and online video hosting platforms.
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The antitrust agency says that OEMs may not want to place Google’s app suite on their devices before they sell them. The search engine shouldn’t stop vendors from using the Play Services APIs or offering financial or other incentives.
Experts say that the regulator’s decision will stop Google from growing its market share. Google might not be able to follow the corrective actions. If it doesn’t make big changes to the way it does business.
It’s been two years since more than 150 Indian startups and big businesses first worked together to form an alliance. In an effort to rely heavily less on Google, they thought about starting their own app store. Google has put off putting its new Play Store charge rule into effect in the country because of the response.