Google’ Android offering has come under the competition watchdog’s lens

The Competition Commission of India’s reported plan to probe Google’s alleged abuse of dominance in India exposes the confused way in which India regulates its booming tech and telecom industry. The CCI said it would investigate into whether the US-based tech giant had used the monopoly of its Android mobile operating system — which powers more than 80 per cent smartphones globally and over 90 per cent in India — to block service providers. The allegation is that device makers are essentially being forced to pre-install Google Search and Chrome on Android devices. The CCI’s move, based on a ‘complaint’ of which little is known so far, is not the first such step against Google. Last year, the CCI slapped a nearly $20 million fine on Google after it found that the latter had tweaked its commercial flight search function for monopolistic ends. However, the current move leaves room for ambiguity. Technically, the complaint with CCI looks very similar to the one Google faced in Europe, which led to the European authorities slapping a whopping $5 billion fine on the search giant.

Considering that India generally follows the EU model when it comes to addressing issues such as data security and privacy, the probe against Google, which reports say will be completed in about a year, is likely to follow the EU route. To avoid a hefty penalty, Google had to alter its business model in the EU. Given that the CCI can fine the guilty up to 10 per cent of its turnover for the past three fiscals, the current probe is serious business. That said, it is a fact that Android, which Google offers ‘free’ for manufacturers and developers to customise and distribute, has made mobile computing extremely hassle-free and accessible in a market like India. Responding to the EU case, Google had said asking it to unbundle search services from other apps could force it to stop offering Android for free. If that happens, that can hurt the smartphone industry. Early users of mobile phones would be familiar with the cumbersome operating systems that were alarmingly weak and guzzled energy. It was Android’s entry that let the smartphone revolution catch up in India, as elsewhere. It is also not clear how Google used Android to stifle competition.

If forcing manufacturers to bundle services and embed them as default in mobiles in return for it offering Android for free, is the charge against Google, the same can be said of data providers including Reliance Jio. Singling out Google for such behaviour might sound prejudiced. It would prompt users to doubt the government’s motives, considering the allegations from industry insiders that the Centre wanted more access to user data, a demand Google has resisted. It is not in the best interests of India’s emerging smart products industry that a ubiquitous services provider like Google is dragged into a legal dispute over an issue that is better sorted out through negotiations.

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