A report has found that Google allegedly abused the dominant position of its Android operating system in India by using its “huge financial muscle” to illegally hurt competitors.
The report was made by the country’s antitrust authority on its two-year probe seen by Reuters.
Reuters reported that Alphabet Inc’s Google reduced “the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell devices operating on alternative versions of Android.”
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Speaking to Reuters, the US tech giant said that it looks forward to working with the CCI to “demonstrate how Android has led to more competition and innovation, not less.”
However, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told the news agency that Google has not received the investigation report.
Another person familiar with the case said that a senior member of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) will review the report and give Google another chance to defend itself, before issuing a final order. The person also said that it could include penalties.
Google would be able to appeal any order in India’s courts.
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It is reportedly said that the findings are the latest antitrust setback for Google in India, where it faces several probes in the payments app and smart television markets.
The company has been investigated in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. This week, South Korea’s antitrust regulator fined Google $180 million for blocking customised versions of Android.
Is Google vague and biased?
The report stated that Google submitted at least 24 responses during the probe, defending itself and arguing it was not hurting competition.
Several tech giants such as Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, as well as smartphone makers like Samsung and Xiaomi, were among 62 entities that responded to CCI questions during its Google investigation.
According to Counterpoint Research, Android powers 98 percent of India’s 520 million smartphones.
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In 2019, when the CCI ordered the probe, it said Google appeared to have leveraged its dominance to reduce device makers’ ability to opt for alternate versions of its mobile operating system and force them to pre-install Google apps.
The 750-page report finds the mandatory pre-installation of apps “amounts to imposition of unfair conditions on the device manufacturers” in violation of India’s competition law, while the company leveraged the position of its Play Store app store to protect its dominance.
While Play Store policies were “one-sided, ambiguous, vague, biased and arbitrary”, Android has been allegedly “enjoying its dominant position” in licensable operating systems for smartphones and tablets since 2011.
The probe was triggered in 2019 after two Indian junior antitrust research associates and a law student filed a complaint, Reuters reported.
