New Delhi: World’s largest digital tech firm Google is facing a new antitrust case in India over the allegation that it has abused the dominance of its Android operating system that powers the majority of smart TVs sold in the country, according to a report.
According to the report, this is the fourth major antitrust probe by Indian authorities against Alphabet Inc-owned search engine giant. The news comes at a time when Google is facing criticism from Indian mobile application developers over the issue of charging a hefty fee from them for using in-app purchase feature, among others. According to a report by Reuters, India’s fair trade watchdog, the Competition Commission of India has been probing allegations against Google that it engages in anti-competitive practices by creating barriers for firms wanting to use or develop modified versions of Android for smart TVs, such as Amazon Fire TV's operating system.
The case has been filed by two Indian antitrust lawyers, Kshitiz Arya and Purushottam Anand. The report comes at a time when Google is facing new antitrust probes in the United States and China over the allegation that it abuses its dominant position in the mobile and TV operating system market to stifle competition.
According to the report, the tech giant has been asked by the CCI to submit its written response to the allegations levelled by the two antitrust lawyers.
Allegations against Google
According to the report, Google has been accused of abusing the dominant position of its Android operating system for smart TVs as nearly 60% of smart TVs sold in India run on Google’s Android operating system.
For example, if a company sells smartphones based on Google’s Android mobile operating system then it will be restricted from selling Smart TVs powered by the operating system of a rival company such as Amazon’s Fire TV system.
Similarly, if a company’s smart TVs are powered by a rival operating system then it cannot offer Google’s Play Store of Google Maps on its mobile phones.
Google not only dominates the search engine market but it also dominates the mobile operating system market as most of the Chinese and Korean handset makers such as Xiaomi, Oppo, One Plus, Real Me, Samsung and others use Google Android operating system on their phones. The only exception among major manufacturers is Apple’s iPhone, which uses its own operating system.
Several cases against Google
In 2011, the CCI had received a complaint against Google that it was favouring its products in search results. After a nearly three-year-long investigation, the investigation arm of the fair trade watchdog submitted its report in April 2015.
In 2018, the CCI imposed a fine of Rs 1,360 crores on Google for the search bias but an appeal against that order is pending.
In 2019, the CCI opened a probe against Google for allegedly misusing its dominant position in the mobile operating system market to restrict the choices of smartphone manufacturers.
Earlier this year, the Competition Commission of India started a review of the case alleging that Google was misusing its dominant position to promote its own mobile payments app Google Pay in the country.
Google-Paytm feud
India’s homegrown digital payment firm Paytm last month accused Google of misusing its dominant position in the country’s digital ecosystem to the disadvantage of Indian companies that rely on Google services.
In a blog post, Paytm criticised Google for removing Paytm mobile application from Google Play Store over the issue of an alleged violation of Google's policies related to online gambling.
On Sunday, Paytm-Google feud took a new turn as Paytm launched its own Android Mini App store where Indian app developers can host their application for masses.
A senior official in the ministry of commerce Tuesday told ETV Bharat that the government was looking into the dispute between Paytm and Google.
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