CCI: Google appears to have misused dominance in India

A 14-page order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), reviewed by Reuters this week, found Google’s restrictions on manufacturers seemed to amount to imposition of “unfair conditions” under India’s competition law.

Last month it was reported that the CCI had launched a probe in April against Google for its alleged abuse of Android’s dominant position to block rivals, but the contents of the directive detailing the initial assessment upon which that investigation was ordered have not been previously revealed.

This case is similar to one Google faced in Europe, where regulators imposed a $5 billion fine on the company for forcing manufacturers to pre-install its apps on Android devices. Google has appealed against the verdict.

By making pre-installation of Google’s proprietary apps conditional, it “reduced the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell devices operated on alternate versions of Android”, the order said. “It amounts to prima facie leveraging of Google’s dominance.” Google had referred to Reuters report, in which it said Android had enabled millions of Indians to connect to the internet by making mobile devices more affordable.