The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has slapped a penalty of Rs 936.44 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies. This is the second CCI order against Google in less than a week in which the regulator has asked the internet giant to cease and desist from unfair business practices.
Why Has CCI Imposed A Fine On Google?
Play Store Policies: In the latest ruling on Tuesday (October 25), Google has been fined Rs 936.44 crore for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies. Google’s Play Store constitutes the main distribution channel for app developers in the Android mobile ecosystem, which allows its owners to capitalise on the apps brought to market. The CCI said that making access to the Play Store for app developers dependent on mandatory usage of GPBS (Google Play’s Billing System) for paid apps and in-app purchases constitutes an imposition of an unfair condition on app developers.
The Rs 936.44-crore penalty translates to 7 per cent of Google’s average relevant turnover.
Android Mobile Devices: In another ruling against Google last week (October 20), the CCI had imposed a fine of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in relation to Android mobile devices, and ordered the internet major to cease and desist from various unfair business practices.
Online Search: The CCI had in February 2018 also imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search. It was accused of abusing its dominant position in the online search market through practices leading to search bias and search manipulation, among others.
Currently, the CCI is also probing Google in cases of alleged anti-competitive practices by Google with respect to news content and smart TV.
The CCI Order Against Google
Apart from the penalty, the CCI said Google should not restrict app developers from using any third-party billing/ payment processing services for purchasing apps.
Google has also been directed to provide the requisite financial data within 30 days of receiving the order. Similar observations were also made in the CCI’s ruling against Google in the Android matter.
Google has been asked to implement various measures, including allowing and not restricting app developers from using any third-party billing/ payment processing services, either for in-app purchases or for purchasing apps. “Google shall also not discriminate or otherwise take any adverse measures against such apps using third-party billing/ payment processing services, in any manner,” the release said.
Further, the internet major has been asked not to impose any anti-steering provisions on app developers as well as not restrict them from communicating with their users to promote their apps and offerings, in any manner. Google should not restrict end users, in any manner, to access and use within apps, the features and services offered by app developers, the release said.
According to the CCI, the company should set out a clear and transparent policy on data that is collected on its platform, the use of such data by the platform and also the potential and actual sharing of such data with app developers or other entities, including related entities. Among other directions, the regulator has told Google that the competitively relevant transaction/consumer data of apps generated and acquired through GPBS should not be leveraged by the company to further its competitive advantage.
“Google shall also provide access to the app developer of the data that has been generated through the concerned app, subject to adequate safeguards, as highlighted in this order,” the release said. Also, CCI has asked the internet major not to impose any condition on app developers, which is unfair, unreasonable, discriminatory or disproportionate to the services provided to the app developers.
As per the regulator, Google should ensure complete transparency in communicating to app developers, services provided, and the corresponding fee charged. Google shall also publish in an unambiguous manner the payment policy and criteria for the applicability of the fee. “Google shall not discriminate against other apps facilitating payment through UPI in India vis-a-vis its own UPI app, in any manner,” it added.
(With Inputs From PTI)
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