The CCI, a fair trade regulator, issued an investigation order against Google on Friday for allegedly engaging in anti-competitive behavior regarding its Play Store pricing strategy.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) noted in granting the order that the informants are principally upset about Google’s revised payment practices regarding its in-house app store, Google Play Store, which is claimed to be in breach of competition legislation.
Additionally, the order was issued less than two weeks after Google deleted a few apps due to payment difficulties from the Play Store. Due to a disagreement about service fee payments, Google banned a few apps from the Play Store in India on March 1. After receiving criticism from the government, the apps were ultimately reinstated.
The Indian Digital Media Industry Foundation (IDMIF), Mebigo Labs Pvt Ltd, Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), and People Interactive India Pvt Ltd, owned by Anupam Mittal, are the informants.
Additionally, it is claimed that a number of parties, including users, payment processors, and app developers, may be impacted by the payment policies. After concluding on the basis of prima facie that Google had violated Section 4 of the Competition Act, which deals with abuse of dominant position, the watchdog ordered the investigation.
Google has alleged that the service fee has been levied for a variety of services that Play Store offers to app developers, according to the regulator’s 21-page judgment. The watchdog stated that Google’s justification does not seem acceptable if the cost is for the services provided to app developers.
Furthermore, it stated that the problem is significant given that, despite Google’s claims to the contrary, a number of extremely large physical delivery applications do not help to recover Google’s investment in the Play Store.
“To elaborate, it’s unclear why apps that solely allow consumption have been granted permission to unwind when their material is accessed within the app. The application of service fees appears to be biased and arbitrary overall, according to the CCI.
‘Kuku FM’ is owned by Mebigo Labs; People Interactive India runs the online matching classified services Shaadi.com and Sangam.com; IBDF is an organization that promotes the interests of the Indian television and digital media sectors; and IDMIF is a division of IBDF.
