Indian watchdog looking into Google following accusations of abuse
The Competition Commission of India has spent the last six months looking into accusations that Google has abused the Android mobile operating system to block its rivals.
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According to Reuters, Alphabet executives have met with the Indian watchdog to discuss the case on at least one occassion.
The case was said to be somewhat similar to the one the tech giant faced in Europe back in 2018 that resulted in €4.34bn fine by antitrust regulators for the company's decision to force manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and its Chrome browser, along with its Google Play app store on Android devices.
"It is on the lines of the EU case, but at a preliminary stage," a source told Reuters.
The CCI could potentially instruct its investigators to investigate the accusations against Google in more detail, or simply throw out the complaint if the watchdog felt that it lacked merit.
But someone close to the matter told Reuters the CCI would have a "tough time not initiating a formal investigation into Google given the EU case, unless they can show the problem has been addressed".
Last year, the CCI hit Google parent Alphabet with a fine of 1.36bn rupees (£15m) for "search bias" and abuse of its dominant position.
As of 1340 GMT, Alphabet shares had picked up 0.79% ahead of the bell and were trading at $1,110.87 each.