US move to fire up India’s Google probe

Bengaluru|Mumbai: Calls for deeper scrutiny into Google’s India business are likely to gather momentum following the US government’s decision to file an antitrust lawsuit against the internet behemoth. Industry observers say regulators here too may think afresh about some of Google’s business practices.The US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Tuesday said its investigators found Google acted unlawfully to maintain its dominant position in search and advertising on the internet.The lawsuit comes at a time when a group of Indian startup founders has approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and ministry of electronics and IT, complaining about Google’s “unfair” practices, via its dominance in the app ecosystem through Google Play store and the Android mobile platform.“The US lawsuit strengthens our case against Google,” said Murugavel Jankiraman, founder of Bharat Matrimony, one of the internet firms that complained to CCI against Google’s new mandate to charge 30% commission on all in-app purchases. “DoJ has clearly demonstrated Google abused its monopoly. We hope it is split into small entities. The lawsuit is a shot in the arm for Indian startups. Hope CCI will look into it.”Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, who is leading Indian startups’ fight against Google in India, took to Twitter to say the internet giant blocks competition, citing the antitrust case. Arbitrary Powers, says Paytm’s Sharma“Google’s Android and Play Store dominance in India gives them even more arbitrary powers and clout in India’s businesses,” Sharma tweeted. “We have to come together and make India Atmanirbhar.” Google did not reply to emails seeking comment. Antitrust experts told ET the US lawsuit is bound to make Indian regulators sit up and take notice. “The ongoing Android investigation by CCI is slightly different but may touch upon this aspect as well during the course of investigation. DoJ’s suit may also inspire a fresh complaint in India,” said Abdullah Hussain, competition law partner, L&L Partners.Google is already facing investigation into the alleged abuse of Android’s dominant position in the smart TV and smartphone markets, as well as allegedly unfair promotion of Google Pay.“CCI will keep track of the US lawsuit and gain knowledge from the US Federal Trade Commission through the International Competition Network (ICN). This will give them insight to lead their investigation and open a way to look at data monopolies,” said a Delhi-based antitrust lawyer, who did not want to be named. ICN is an informal, virtual network that seeks to facilitate cooperation between competition law authorities globally.Another antitrust lawyer, also on condition of anonymity, said Google is the new Microsoft of the decade, and for a young regulator such as CCI, it would be easier to go against Google if the US finds that the internet firm abused its market dominance.“These global corporations have similar business practices across the world. In every jurisdiction, Google has a strong market share. Therefore, the antitrust assessment is likely to be the same,” he said.ET had earlier written that CCI is set to ask Google whether its purchase of a 7.73% stake in Jio Platforms would entail any sharing of data in a way that could stymie competition, especially in the handset industry.On July 15, Google became the 13th investor to pick up a stake in Jio Platforms. The investment will be from Google’s recently announced $10-billion India digitisation fund and, interestingly, makes the internet giant the second-largest minority investor in Jio Platforms after arch rival Facebook. 78799919The Google -Jio partnership is multi-pronged and the duo has entered a commercial agreement to jointly develop an entry-level affordable smartphone with optimisations to the Android operating system and Play Store. The smartphone, which will support 5G, is targeted at 350 million featurephone users in India. Politics also entered the conversation following the US antitrust suit. Swadeshi Jagran Manch, the economic wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, asked the Prime Minister to take action against Google. “Google is the same everywhere. This is a threat to Indian startups and businesses. This is against fair trade,” said Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convenor, SJM. “It is a threat to our democracy and the government of India must take it up.”

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/37vikeE