CCI Orders Probe Into Google for Abuse of Dominance in Online Gaming and Advertising Markets:

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) prima facie ordered Google, claiming that the company could potentially exploit its position in the online market. This comes from an allegation by online gaming company WinZO regarding Google’s unfair business practices in relation to the distribution of apps through the Play Store and advertisement access through Google Search.

Three Relevant Markets Identified by CCI

In its preliminary order, CCI determined three primary relevant markets:

Licensable Operating Systems of Smart Mobile Devices
Application Stores for Licensable OS Devices
Online Search Advertising Services Industry In India
Using previous findings and conduction a market analysis, Goggle was considered dominant in all three markets.

Abuse Allegations: Preferential Treatment and Policy Contradiction

The CCI has ordered a comprehensive investigation into three broad issues:

Google’s Priority Treatment on DFS and Rummy in its App Pilot Program
Policy Enforcement Disparities in Google’s Online Gambling and Games Policy
Selective enforcement of advertising policy against platforms like Zupee and MPL.
These are only examples.

Of course, CCI did not consider WinZO’s allegations on trademark infringement and the sideloading issue because of the jurisdictional limitations and the ongoing court case in the Supreme Court.

Special Responsibility of Dominant Firms: A Legal & Economic Debate

The Competition Act, 2002 requires a dominant firm to shoulder greater responsibility than its peers, something which remains accepted within Indian law. This, however, remains a challenge in the US where the overarching view within antitrust law is that dominance is more an outcome of the market than something to be avoided.

Regardless, the CCI was careful not to venture beyond established legal bounds in the Real Money Gaming sector by consulting with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTy) first, which shaped their view of the sector’s legal ambiguities.

Google’s Risk Strategy Under Scrutiny

Google is more than exploring the gray area of RMG legality. Its partnership with household names like DFS and Rummy raises speculation. Many agree that partnerships implemented during the initial market rollout showed a blatant disregard for legal implications paired with a focus on profit.

In one of the fastest changing industries, a year-long pilot project to test various concepts was inevitably viewed as poorly conceived.

As a result of its evolving business strategies, Google has attracted global attention for their antitrust rulings which include one enforced by a district court based in Washington D.C.