Shillong, May 22: The central government is contemplating legal action against Alphabet Inc’s Google for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour by abusing its market position.
The infringement of anti-trust laws by Google, according to MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar, “is worrisome, not just for us, it’s worrisome for the entire digital ecosystem in India.”
Google was fined $275 million (Rs 1,338 crore) in October 2022 by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for abusing its dominant position in the Android operating system market and pressuring developers to utilise its in-app payment mechanism. The competition watchdog stated at the time that it had been determined that Google’s business was driven by the “ultimate intent of increasing users on its platforms.”
According to Chandrasekhar, such discoveries are “serious” and “deeply concerning” to the Indian government, which will take its own action against Google.
The ministry must act, according to Chandrasekhar. “We have given it some thought. In the upcoming weeks, you’ll witness it. We won’t ignore it or try to sweep it under the rug, for sure” he said.
While the payments issue is currently being appealed, an Indian panel stated in March that CCI’s conclusions regarding Google’s anti-competitive behaviour in the Android market were accurate in response to a legal challenge.
Even though it cautioned that “no other jurisdiction has ever requested for such far-reaching changes,” Google was compelled to make significant changes to how it markets its mobile operating system in India as a result of the Android anti-trust judgement.