The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has ordered an investigation into Google in April against their claim of anti-competitive practices in India. The probe will look into the matter of Google’s alleged abuse of the Android platform to hurt rivals. However, its not known though, who had made the complaint against Google. The complainants’ names have been exposed after the order was made public last week.
It has been made public that two junior Indian antitrust research associates and a law school student were behind the complaint against Google. Umar Javeed and Sukarma Thapar work as research associates at the CCI, and Aquib, who is Umar’s bother, is a law school student who interned with the CCI briefly in 2018.
The case was filed by these three, and even though it may appear to be unusual for CCI researchers to file cases in such a manner, according to antitrust lawyers, there is nothing wrong with it.
They deserve appreciation, they have done a commendable job. The developments will be watched eagerly as the case involves many intricacies and its implications will be world over – S. L. Bunker, a former senior member of the CCI
The trio’s complaint is mainly based on the European Commission’s order from last year in which a $5 billion fine was slapped on Google for forcing manufacturers to pre-install its apps on Android devices. The complaint is not only against Google’s India unit but also against Google LLC in general. The CCI’s finding was that Google appeared to be dominant on the basis of the material brought forward by Android users. It is not yet clear as how much fine Google would have to pay off if the allegations turn out to be true.
Both the CCI and Google have refrained from making any comment but Google had previously said that it would work with CCI “to demonstrate how Android has led to more competition and innovation, not less.”
