Google under pressure as India plans digital competition law
The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), an interest group representing the South Asian nation’s digital startups, has filed a complaint with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) about Google’s alleged abusive market practices.
According to a report from Deutsche Welle (DW), the German international news service, ADIF says that Google’s control over major online platforms, coupled with the fact that it derives 97% of its revenue from advertising, has stifled competition and adversely affected Indian businesses.
“These actions by Google have an adverse effect. We need a level playing field. This step by us is important to safeguard the market that operates on principles of fairness and transparency,” Prateek Jain, associate director of ADIF, reportedly told DW.
Google and the other tech giants are under pressure in the US and Europe so it’s no surprise that Asia is following suit.
In August, a US court in Washington, DC ruled that Google violated antitrust laws and spent billions of dollars to become an illegal monopoly and maintain domination in web search and advertising markets, notes DW.
In 2018, regulators imposed a $5bn fine on Google in 2018 for abusing its Android market dominance in three key areas.
In February of this year. Google was issued with a €2.1bn claim by a group of more than 30 European news media outlets seeking compensation for losses they say have been incurred because of Google’s advertising technology.
Announcing the suit, filed in the District Court of Amsterdam, Brussels-based law firm Geradin Partners and Dutch law firm Stek said Google has abused its dominant market position, which has simultaneously reduced claimants’ revenues from advertising and increased their fees for using advertising technology services.
The CCI, India’s competition regulator, is currently examining a draft Digital Competition Bill to complement existing antitrust laws.
The draft bill aims to prevent anti-competitive practices and allows for heavy penalties in case of violations. It also aims to force tech companies to make fundamental changes.
“We will have to see how this shapes up and are carefully deliberating. We could see increased preemptive compliance on the part of large tech companies,” a senior government official reportedly told DW on condition of anonymity.
Last year, the Indian government constituted a Committee on Digital Competition Law to examine the “need for a separate law on competition in digital markets”.
The draft bill currently identifies ten “core digital services” such as online search, social networking and video sharing.
“No monopoly is permanent. In today’s cyber world, every monopoly is likely to be scrutinised with microscopic attention by competition regulators to ensure the freeing of the digital market ecosystem from monopolistic shackles,” Pavan Duggal, a cyberlaw expert, reportedly told DW.
