CCI to probe Google’s alleged abuse of Android to block rivals: report
10 May 2019
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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered an investigation into Google’s alleged abuse of its popular Android mobile operating system to block rivals, reports citing sources close to the development said.
The anti-trust watchdog last year started looking into the complaint, which, according to reports, is similar to one Google faced in Europe that resulted in a 4.34 billion euro ($5 billion) fine on the search platform.
Following preliminary investigations, the CCI last month decided to have a full-scale investigation into the accusations, which it found to have some merit.
CCI had not previously made any comments on the proposed investigation into Google’s Android-enabled searches.
Google said the Android has enabled millions of Indians to connect to the internet by making mobile devices more affordable. Google also said it looked forward to working with the CCI “to demonstrate how Android has led to more competition and innovation, not less.”
The CCI investigation is expected to be completed in about a year and Google executives would likely be summoned to appear before the CCI in coming months, the reports said.
While the EU regulators had looked into how Google forced manufacturers to pre-install Google Chrome browser together with its Google Play app store, on Android devices, details of the complaint against Google in India could not be determined.
Google has appealed the EC order even as it said its Android device users in Europe would be able to choose rival browsers and search engines. Once a user downloads a rival search app, it also prompts them to change their default search engine in their Google Chrome browser, if they so wish, Google said.
About 88 per cent of smart phone makers globally use Android, which comes free while in India, about 99 per cent of the smart phones sold this year used the platform, according to Counterpoint Research estimates.
