Google accused of not following CCI order in India

Internet search and tech company Google has been accused of not fully following the orders of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in India. Epic Games alleges that its app store is not being hosted on Google’s Play Store app. This could become a new legal dispute in the country for Alphabet, the American company that runs Google.

After facing defeat in the appeal against the CCI order, Google had said that it will change its Android business model and will not force device makers to pre-install Google’s apps like YouTube or Chrome. However, Epic Games, in a case filed last week in the appellate tribunal, has said that Google has not fully complied with the CCI direction. Google was asked to host third-party app stores on the Play Store and allow apps to be downloaded without using the Play Store.

Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite, runs its own app store, where games and other apps are offered for download. Bakari Middleton, the firm’s director, told Reuters in a statement: “We want to join the court with Indian developers in supporting the CCI’s order, which calls on Google to allow competing third-party app stores. Was.” Even before this, Epic Games has launched a campaign against Apple and Google for charging more commission for the App Store.

CCI has not responded to the question sent in this regard. Google had expressed concern about the CCI order because it is more strict than the decision given by the European Commission against Android four years ago. Of the 60 crore smartphones in the country, about 97 percent run on Android. This figure is about 75 percent for the approximately 55 crore smartphones in Europe. CCI had imposed a fine of about $ 161 million on Alphabet in October last year for misusing its dominant position in the Android market.