Read the expert views of our Partner Ketan Mukhija on CCI's INR 2274 Cr. Penalty Order on Google.

“The market watchdog of India, namely, the Competition Commission of India (‘CCI’ or ‘Commission’), has seized one of the largest industries in the country under its grab, the Digital Sector. Today, the tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Uber, Netflix, Amazon, unarguably impact the lives of ordinary people to a very proximate degree. Taking cognizance of the wide-reaching impact of the practices by Google in India, the Commission has come down heavily on the tech giant, twice over within a span of seven days, imposing hefty penalties of INR 1337.76 crores and INR 936.44 crores for abuse of its dominance in Indian markets. As ruled by CCI, Google has constructed a separate ecosystem with its mobile service applications such as Maps, Chrome, Youtube, App Store for Android smart mobile OS - Play Store, and its UPI payment App – Google Pay. In simple words, given the vertical integrations forged, Google has emerged dominant in the ‘relevant’ product and geographic markets. The anti-competitive practices of Google, as identified by the Commission, adversely affect mobile manufacturers and the app developers with ripple effects on end consumers, leading to abuse of such dominant position. It might be logical to assume that the recent antitrust orders by the Commission is among many to follow.”