Why has CCI fined 2200 crores on Google? | Commercia Financial Services

<div class="blog-content"><h2><big>Google is trending on Google! But, not for </big><em>‘<strong>sundar</strong>’</em><big> reasons. Google has been fined for not playing by the rules and abusing its dominant position. Besides the fact that we say ‘Google it’ rather than searching the internet, Google says I have got competition. CCI hardly believes that.</big></h2>

<h2><big>The Competition Commission of India (CCI) which keeps an eye on businesses so that they play fair has levied an antitrust penalty on Google twice in just a week.</big></h2>

<h2><big>So, what’s the matter?</big></h2>

<h1><big><strong>Can you uninstall Google Chrome?</strong></big></h1>

<h2><big>Not at all. Similarly, you cannot uninstall any of the applications of the Google suite that comes pre-installed on your smartphone. Your phone runs on the Operating system which is Android. The thing is Android is an open-source Operating System. This means that you can develop your version of Android and launch apps and even your own search engine. But, smartphone companies will not let you install them. Why? Because Smartphone companies are tied in an agreement with Google to use only Google’s version of Android. Also, Google’s apps come pre-installed on your smartphone which automatically compels you to use their app without thinking of an alternative.</big></h2>

<h1><big><strong>Launching an app? Pay Google 30% Commission</strong></big></h1>

<h2><big>Play Store is the ultimate place to download apps for Android users. So, if you are launching an app, you have to list that in the Google Play Store. Every time you earn a revenue of Rs. 100 from your app, you have to pay Rs.30 to Google. According to its policies, the app developers are required to ‘exclusively and mandatorily’ use Google Play’s Billing system. This also applies to in-app purchases. It does not allow you to use any alternative billing system for receiving payments.</big></h2>

<h1><strong><big>So, Google has pretty much killed all the scope of competition. But, Google has a different view.</big></strong></h1>

<h1><strong><big>Is Apple a Competition?</big></strong></h1>

<h2><big>Google says Apple is giving it fair competition. To this, CCI fairly disagrees as the competition is limited till the time of buying smartphones. Once, the user has bought an Andriod phone, there is no competition for Google. Also, no user decides on a smartphone based on the operating system. The decision is based on the mobile hardware and specification.</big></h2>

<h1><big><strong>So, is your smartphone going to change ?</strong></big></h1>

<h2><big>CCI has given a deadline of 30 days to submit the necessary documents in this matter. CCI’s orders include giving a choice to smartphone manufacturers whether to pre-install Google's mobile suite of applications or not. Google should also ensure interoperability between Google’s version of Android and other alternative versions and should give an option to app developers for an alternative billing system. Google says this move will compromise the security of app users and developers. (Unsaid but obvious it will also compromise Google’s revenue.) Since similar cases have been going on Google since 2019, it is unlikely that smartphones are going to change anytime soon.</big></h2>

<h1><strong><big>What the Fine! Is it enough?</big></strong></h1>

<h2><big>Not just in India, Google has been fined for similar reasons in European nations. In the Android case, Google has been fined Rs. 1337 crores in India, and in the Billing system case, it has been fined Rs. 936 crores. As per Indian law, these fines should not be more than 10% of the average revenue earned for the last three financial years. On the other hand, European Courts have fined around Rs. 40,000 crores to Google for similar reasons. But, even this enormous penalty is just a drop in the ocean for Google. It will earn this penalty in just 2 weeks!</big></h2>

<h1><big><strong>To be concluded</strong></big></h1>

<h2><big>Google is indeed a dominant player. The fact that we are writing this blog about Google’s abuse of power on Google itself very much explains that. Though Google has challenged all the cases worldwide and has hardly put a dent in its revenue, it would be a matter of the future to see how effective will be CCI’s action on Google in India.</big></h2></div>

Updated at: 17/July/2023

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