GOOGLE POLICY CHANGE IN LINE WITH CCI DIRECTION
Our smartphones come with pre–installed apps like G maps, Gmail, Google search engines, etc. We cannot uninstall these apps even if we do use them. Apart from Google apps some smartphones also come with third-party apps (supported by Google). Google uses its dominance and influences smartphone makers to pre–install apps. This creates a nuisance to the users and discourages competition in the market.
To avoid this, the Competition Commission of India imposed a fine of 161 million USD on Google owner Alphabet for using its dominance to exploit Indian markets. The Supreme Court recently upheld CCI’s direction. Following this, Google changed its policy.
Contents
• What policy changes were brought in?
• Background
What policy changes were brought in?
• Users can now choose to change their default search engines on their smartphones
• User choice billing is used for subscriptions and app purchases. This billing is to be available for all apps from February 2023
• Android compatibility changes were introduced.
• Smartphone makers (OEM or Original Equipment Manufacturers) shall pre-install the apps at their will
Background
The Competition Commission of India has been continuously imposing penalties on Google. Anti – Trust orders were issued for Google’s misuse of its dominance in the market. Following the CCI order, Alphabet (Google’s owner) approached National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. NCLAT also upheld CCI orders. Later Alphabet approached the Supreme court. And the apex court also turned down Google’s filings.
TRIVIA:
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is a tech giant with a $1.7 trillion market cap. While Google is the flagship subsidiary, Alphabet has grown through a series of key acquisitions across the domains of hardware and software.
Google LLC is an American multinational technology company focusing on artificial intelligence, online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, and consumer electronics. It has been referred to as “the most powerful company in the world” and as one of the world’s most valuable brands due to its market dominance, data collection, and technological advantages in the field of artificial intelligence. Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc. is one of the five Big Tech companies, alongside Amazon, Apple Inc., Meta Platforms, and Microsoft.
Google was founded on September 4, 1998, by computer scientists Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were PhD students at Stanford University in California. Together they own about 14% of its publicly listed shares and control 56% of its stockholder voting power through super-voting stock. The company went public via an initial public offering (IPO) in 2004. In 2015, Google was reorganized as a wholly owned subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. Google is Alphabet’s largest subsidiary and is a holding company for Alphabet’s internet properties and interests. Sundar Pichai was appointed CEO of Google on October 24, 2015, replacing Larry Page, who became the CEO of Alphabet. On December 3, 2019, Pichai also became the CEO of Alphabet.