Govt Plans To Take Action Against Google After Antitrust Breaches

India’s government plans to take action against Alphabet Inc’s Google after an antitrust watchdog last year found the group to have abused its market position by indulging in anti-competitive practices, a top IT minister told Reuters.

India’s antitrust body in October fined Google $275 million in two cases, which involved abusing its dominant position in the Android operating system market, and pushing developers to use its in-app payment system, as per the Reuters report.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the federal deputy minister for information technology, told Reuters in an interview at the IT ministry in New Delhi that such findings are “serious” and cause “deep concern” to India’s federal government, which will take its own action against Google.

Reuters report stated, “The ministry has to take action,” Chandrasekhar said. “We have thought through it. You will see it in the coming weeks. Certainly, it’s not something that we will leave and push under the carpet.”

The minister declined to specify what sort of policy or regulatory action the government could take.
Chandrasekhar, who is one of the highest-ranking officials in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration, said the issue “is worrisome, not just for us, it’s worrisome for the entire digital ecosystem in India”.

According to the Reuters report, Google did not respond to a request for comment on the minister’s remarks. Asked if he had held talks with Google on the issue, Chandrasekhar said “there is no need for any discussion. There is a finding of a court.”

While the payments case is still under appeal, an Indian tribunal in March said in response to a legal challenge that the Competition Commission of India’s findings of Google’s anti-competitive conduct in the Android market were correct, added the Reuters report.