Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed two orders against Google

Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed two orders against Google

Subject :Economy

Context: In October 2022, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed two orders against Google in respect of its Android ecosystem and Play Store policies. Through these orders, the competition panel not only imposed penalties against Google for abusing its dominant position, but also directed it to modify its policies.

More about the news:

• For app developers, app stores have become a necessary medium for distribution of their apps to the end users and the availability of app store(s) is directly dependent on OS installed on a smart device.
• Google’s Play Store constitutes the main distribution channel for app developers in the Android mobile ecosystem, which allows its owners to capitalize on the apps brought to market.
• Based on its assessment, the CCI found Google to be dominant in the markets for licensable OS for smart mobile devices & market for app stores for Android smart mobile OS, in India.
• Interestingly, the remedies being opposed by Google in India, are required to be implemented by it in Europ
• A majority of the behavioural remedies imposed by CCI are covered by the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) as well.One such direction of the CCI includes allowing side-loading of applications in Android mobile phones.

What is Side-loading?

• Sideloading offers mobile device users a way to access more applications than are available through commercial app stores such as Google Play or the Apple App Store. It is the installation of an application on a mobile device without using the device’s official application distribution method.
• It involves installing an application package in APK format onto an Android device. Such packages are usually downloaded from websites other than the official app store Google Play.

About Competition Commission of India:

• CCI is a statutory body under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002.
• It should be noted that on the recommendations of Raghavan committee, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was repealed and replaced by the Competition Act, 2002.
• Composition: The Commission consists of a Chairperson and not more than 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.
• It is the statutory duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having an adverse effect on competition,promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade carried on by other participants, in markets in India as provided in the Preamble as well as Section 18 of the Act.
• Commission is also mandated to give its opinion on competition issues to government or statutory authority and to undertake competition advocacy for creating awareness of competition law. Advocacy is at the core of effective competition regulation.
• Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been entrusted with implementation of law, has always believed in complementing robust enforcement with facilitative advocacy. It is a quasi-judicial body.
• VISION : To promote and sustain an enabling competition culture through engagement and enforcement that would inspire businesses to be fair, competitive and innovative; enhance consumer welfare; and support economic growth.
• MISSION : Competition Commission of India aims to establish a robust competitive environment through
• Proactive engagement with all stakeholders, including consumers, industry, government and international jurisdictions.
• Being a knowledge-intensive organization with high competence level.
• Professionalism, transparency, resolve and wisdom in enforcement

About Competition Act, 2002:

• The Competition Act was passed in 2002 and has been amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007.
• The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.
• In accordance with the provisions of the Amendment Act, the Competition Commission of India and the Competition Appellate Tribunal have been established.
• Government replaced Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in 2017.