Last week, CCI accused Google of abusing its dominant position in the Indian smartphone market and fined it 170m euros.
According to the Counterpoint agency, Google’s Android operating system is installed on 95 percent of smartphones used in India. Independent app developers distribute their software through the Google Play Store, but have to use Google’s billing system to raise money from their customers.
CCI explained that this concept leads to “an unfair situation for application developers”. Google’s “one-sided and arbitrary” billing practice deprives developers of the “just choice” of a payment system. The official ordered Google to allow other payment systems.
EU officials have been taking action against Google for years over similar allegations. The EU Commission has fined billions. The US group still partially defends itself before the European courts in Luxembourg.
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, presented its third-quarter business figures on Tuesday. Accordingly, the group made a profit of 14 billion dollars and fell short of expectations. Shares of the company fell 5.6 percent after the figures were announced.
(SDA)