In a victory for India’s digital and smartphone economy, the CCI in October 2022 found that Google had violated Indian competition laws. A hefty fine of ₹1,337.76 crore on Google followed, for abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile ecosystem. But, more importantly, the CCI prescribed much needed behavioural rules of the game, for ensuring lasting market correction. It crafted incisive and measured remedies, requiring Google to fall squarely within acceptable market standards of fair competition.
Once implemented, the remedies will directly impact smartphone markets to create a level playing field for devices, operating systems, app stores and apps. Google will no longer be allowed to throttle competitors to Android and cannot unfairly bundle its proprietary apps. Other remedial directions include allowing other app stores to be accessible through Google’s Play Store, giving device manufacturers choice of OS and apps that best suit them and permitting access of apps through sideloading – undeniably increasing user choice.
Millions of Indians rely on Android day-in day-out, a point noted by the CCI in assessing the need to preserve competition. Breaking Google’s iron grip on Android has been hailed by indigenous app developers who compete with Google – MapmyIndia, App Bazaar and other start-ups associations. According to one such Indian app developer, “Google makes it pretty much impossible for alternative app stores to proliferate amongst OEMs and users”.
Indian users at disadvantage
Google on the other hand has warned that the CCI’s measures will create technological hurdles and increase security issues. But, as the CCI argued in the preliminary appeal hearing at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, these are purely speculative risks or assumed dangers because a number of these pro-competitive measures are already in place for European users. Does Google believe that it can permit competition abroad, but in India these measures shouldn’t be available for Indian users ?
Need of the hour
The CCI’s ruling directly hits Google’s gatekeeper position over its open-source Android ecosystem, proving Google’s claim of Android openness to be a façade. Indian software developers now have a window of opportunity to flourish and the CCI’s ruling is being seen as creating new horizons for Indian innovation. The Indian Parliament recently considered a report on anti-competitive practices of Big-tech which reprimanded tech monopolies for abusive and self-preferential behaviour – the CCI is on the right path but there is more work to be done to usher the Government’s vision of a truly Digital India.
