As per reports, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Feb 8, 2018 imposed a fine of INR 136 crore on search engine major Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search.
The ruling has come on complaints filed by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS)—back in 2012—against Google LLC, Google India Pvt Ltd and Google Ireland Ltd. Read order here.
CCI imposed the penalty on Google for “infringing anti-trust conduct”. Globally, this is one of the rare cases where Google has been penalised for unfair business ways.
It was alleged that Google is indulging in abuse of dominant position in the market for online search through practices leading to search bias and search manipulation, among others.
The penalty amount of Rs135.86 crore translates to 5% of the company’s average total revenue generated from India operations from its different business segments for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015, according to the CCI order.
The CCI said it has given thoughtful consideration on the submissions made by Google on issue of penalty and found it appropriate to impose a fine.
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