01/11/2022 - Government Policies

Pls review

KEY POINTS

·        CCI has in October 2022 fined Google in two separate cases in a span of two weeks.

·        In 2019, CCI had ordered a detailed probe following complaints by consumers of Android-based smartphones.

·        The case on Google Play Store policies was initiated in 2020 based on an information provided by a party that sought anonymity.

·        Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) or smartphone manufacturers use Android and through it, Google’s apps on their mobile phones.

·        Google pays share from its advertisement revenue to OEMs in exchange for exclusive installation of its search services on their smart mobile devices.

·        The anti-competitive conduct of Google in abusing its dominant position in the market for licensable OS for smart mobile devices in India.

·        Accordingly, they were not able to compete with Google and Google acquired a virtual monopoly in these markets. It also resulted in eliminating choice for users.

·        CCI also found Google to be abusing its dominant position by making pre-installation of Google’s proprietary apps (particularly Google Play Store) conditional upon signing of AFA/ACC for all android devices manufactured/ distributed/marketed by device manufacturers.

·        This was found by CCI to have reduced the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell devices operating on alternative versions of Android.

Please review

Kindly review