CCI fines Google Rs 1 crore for non compliance

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Google for failure to supply information and documents in ongoing investigations.

The tech giant had been directed by the Director General (DG) seeking information and documents in an anti-trust investigation. The order was passed on a reference alleging inter alia non-cooperation by Google in the pending investigations.

A Google spokesperson, stated,"We’re disappointed by this development. While we are confident that our products are compliant with competition law in India, we continue to cooperate fully with the Competition Commission of India's extensive and ongoing investigation. We've not yet received this procedural order, but will review it fully once we have."

The DG is investigating accusations against Google, initially raised by Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) International, stating that Google had violated the terms of competition.

The case that has been with the CCI for two years now suggests that Google has been imposing unfair and discriminatory conditions and abusing its dominant position as a search engine.

In the past, Google has faced similar charges in other countries as well, however, had been settled without conviction. Yet the search engine provider remains under scrutiny.

For instance, European Commission’s investigation over Google’s practices in the online search market started in 2010 after several competitors filed complaints accusing it of highlighting its own services, such as Google Maps, without offering the same visibility to others.