New Delhi, Europe Brief News – India fined Google 13bn rupees ($161m; £144m) for using its Android platform to dominate the market.
The country’s competition regulator has accused the tech giant of entering into “one-sided agreements” with smartphone makers to ensure the dominance of its apps.
It has ordered the tech giant to “cease and desist” from such practices.
The platform has not responded to the fine or the accusations yet.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in a statement that Google was “abusing” the licensing of its Android operating system for a range of smartphones, web searches, browsing and video hosting services.
It said that the tech giant was entering into forced agreements with players in the space to ensure that its bouquet of apps – such as Google Chrome, YouTube, Google Maps and others – were used.
The statement added that this practice was stifling competition and gave Google continuous access to consumer data and lucrative advertising opportunities.
The CCI has also asked Google to not force device manufacturers to pre-install its apps and that it must allow manufacturers and users to install apps of their choice during the initial device setup.
“Markets should compete on merits and the onus is on the dominant players that its conduct does not impinge this competition on merits,” the statement said.
It is facing a series of anti-trust cases in India and authorities are also probing Google’s conduct in the smart TV market and its in-app payments system.
The Android-related inquiry started in 2019, following complaints by consumers of Android smartphones.
