Google has been facing a lot of antitrust issues in multiple countries and this time another probe for the same has been initiated in India. India’s antitrust regulators have filed a probe against Google for abusing its dominant position to force app makers to exclusively use its billing system for in-app purchases and for bundling the search giant’s payments app with Android smartphones sold in the country. There were many complaints against Google that were received by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), being a total of six counts due to which they launched an investigation on two of the violations of antitrust rules.
The other four complaints did not turn up with enough proof due to which they were not taken into consideration. The two issues on which the probe has been launched are, “exclusivity regarding the mode of payment for the purchase of apps and in-app purchases” and “pre-installation and prominence of Google Pay on Android smartphones“”. The tech giant has also been accused of placing Google Pay of prominent placement in Play Store and search advertisement manipulation on Google Store.
The complaint was basically made by Indian Startups against Google as they also believe that Google is making policies leading to unfair competition. If found guilty, Google can also bar Google Pay from being bundled on Android Phones. Google has also mentioned that these issues will be correctly answered by them and they will always make sure that the Play Store provides competitive and equal opportunities to all.