Rs 135.86-cr Penalty on Google India for Creating Search Bias In Favour Of Its Own Services.

Rs 135.86-cr Penalty on Google India for Creating Search Bias In Favour Of Its Own Services.

Nearly Rs 1.36 billion penalty is imposed by (CCI) The Competition Commission of India on internet giant Google for abuse of its dominant position and creating a search bias in favour of its own products and services. The fine amounts to 5 per cent of the company’s average total revenue generated from India operations for the financial years 2013 to 2015.

It was contented by the informants, Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society, that Google runs its core business of search and advertising in a discriminatory manner, causing harm to advertisers and indirectly to the consumers and creates an uneven playing field by favouring Google’s own services and partners, through manually manipulating its search results to the advantage of its vertical partners. Simply, Google was mixing up the search results of any search inputs by users and indirectly favours his own services and sponsored services in search result which ultimately harms the business of others. For example, the name of a song on Google, he receives links to videos of that song from Google Video or YouTube, both of which are properties owned by Google.

The Competition Commission in its detailed order observed that As Google enjoys dominant position in online world, Web Search and Web Search Advertising in Indian markets and they abused their dominant position by unfair means, so they have to give penalty of Rs 1.36 billion.