The CCI has fined Google over Rs 1,000 crore for anti-competitive practices
The country's competition regulator has fined Alphabet Inc's Google Rs 1,337 crore for anti-competitive practices related to Android mobile devices.
The Competition Commission of India, or CCI, tweeted it fined Google for "abusing dominant position in multiple markets in the Android mobile device ecosystem."
Google on Friday said the Indian antitrust watchdog's decision to fine the company for alleged anti-competitive practices was "a major setback for Indian consumers and businesses", and that it would review the decision to evaluate next steps.
"Android has created more choice for everyone and supports thousands of successful businesses in India and around the world. The CCI's decision is a major setback for Indian consumers and businesses, opening serious security risks for Indians who trust Android's security features, and raising the cost of mobile devices for Indians. We will review the decision to evaluate the next steps," a Google spokesperson said on Friday.
Google operates and manages the Android OS (operating system) and licences its other proprietary applications. The OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) use this OS and Google's apps in their mobile devices.
Accordingly, they enter into multiple agreements to govern their rights and obligations, such as Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA).
"MADA assured that the most prominent search entry points i.e., search app, widget and Chrome browser are pre-installed on Android devices, which accorded significant competitive edge to Google's search services over its competitors," the CCI said in a statement today.
"Further, Google also secured significant competitive edge over its competitors, in relation to its another revenue-earning app i.e. YouTube in Android devices. The competitors of these services could never avail the same level of market access which Google secured and embedded for itself through MADA...create significant entry barriers for competitors of Google to enter or operate in the markets concerned," the CCI said.
The CCI said Google had argued about the competitive constraints being faced from Apple Inc.
The CCI said the differences in the two business models that affect the underlying incentives of business decisions are that Apple's business is primarily based on a vertically integrated smart device ecosystem, which focuses on sale of high-end smart devices with advanced software components.
"Whereas Google's business was found to be driven by the ultimate intent of increasing users on its platforms so that they interact with its revenue earning service i.e., online search which directly affects sale of online advertising services by Google," the CCI said.