Google says India’s ‘anti-trust’ ruling could cause irreparable harm

• Google says the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) ‘anti-trust’ ruling, accusing it of search bias, could cause the company irreparable harm.
• The CCI issued a ₹1.36 billion ($20 million approximately) fine against Google.
  
• Google has been accused of abusing the dominant position in the market on three counts.

The multinational technology giant, Google, claimed that the ruling by India’s anti-trust watchdog -- the Competition Commission of India (CCI) -- could cause ‘irreparable harm’ to the company as well as reputational loss.

The probe into Google India that started eight years ago resulted in a ₹1.36 billion ($20 million approximately) fine by the CCI, this February, for abuse of dominant position in the market by tampering with their online search results and preventing partners for using search services by Google’s competitors.

The statement from Google comes ahead of the appeal hearing set for May 28 by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the CCI’s ₹1.36 billion ($20 million approximately) fine issued. It was seen in a document reviewed by news agency Reuters.

What Google is accused of and why

After the verdict, the Alphabet Inc. subsidiary stated that the Commission put forth ‘narrow concerns’ but since the company filed an appeal, the issue may be more grave than it appears. The order specifically said that it, “requires Google to change the way it conducts business in India on a lasting basis and the way it designs its search results page in India.”

The accusation of anti-trust practices have been levelled on three counts. One, Google was promoting its own services in the search results, specifically when it comes to providing flight options.

Second, the ‘universal results’ that were presented were based on Google’s preferences rather than actual relevance. And third, the prohibitions placed on partners to avoid other search engines were unfair and restrictive.

Nonetheless, Google that obtained a partial stay on the CCI’s ruling only had to deposit a partial amount of the imposed penalty. Meanwhile, a local matchmaking website Matrimony.com has filed its own appeal against the CCI ruling claiming that the Alphabet Inc. subsidiary has gotten off too lightly.

The events of May 28 will tell if the CCI’s concerns are truly ‘narrow’ or if their practices have had a detrimental effect on the economic welfare of India.