According to reports, India’s anti-monopoly regulator ordered an investigation on the allegations that Alphabet’s Google company abused the status of the Android operating system in the country’s smart TV market.
Last year, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) began investigating a lawsuit brought by two lawyers against the American technology giant. The commission said on Tuesday that a preliminary investigation found that Google violated certain provisions of the anti-competitive law.
The Competition Commission of India stated that, based on the available information (including materials submitted by Google), the commission was “convinced that there are grounds for ordering an investigation,” which was initiated by the commission’s director-general.
Google denied wrongdoing. The company issued a statement on Tuesday saying that India’s emerging smart TV industry is booming, partly because Google has adopted a free licensing model. The statement also said that there is a competitive relationship between Android TV and multiple mature TV operating systems. “We are confident that our smart TV licensing practices comply with all applicable competition regulations.” A Google spokesperson said.
Smart TV refers to a TV that supports streaming media service applications and WiFi networks, and this product is becoming more and more popular. According to data provided by the market research company Counterpoint Research, India’s smart TV sales in 2019 were 8 million units, of which three-fifths were based on Google’s Android operating system.
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The two Indian lawyers who filed the lawsuit, Kshitiz Arya and Purushottam Anand, said in an interview that they welcomed the Indian Competition Commission’s order to initiate an investigation. The two said that Google restricted the development of many virtual goods and services.
This is Google’s third antitrust investigation in India. The company is also facing investigations into its payment application and Android mobile operating system. There were reports last week that Indian authorities may soon investigate this smart TV case involving Google.
The Competition Commission of India began investigating allegations of anti-competitive conduct by Google in June 2020. The latter was accused of setting obstacles to companies that wish to use or develop modified versions of Android for smart TVs (such as Amazon’s Fire TV operating system).
The committee stated in its order that Google occupies the “most important” position in the relevant smart TV market, and pointed out that according to preliminary investigations, the US company has imposed restrictions on device manufacturers, making it difficult for devices to run alternatively versions. Android system.
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