CCI probing Google, Apple: Chairperson Ravneet Kaur

NEW DELHI: Competition Commission of India (CCI) is probing Google and Apple for alleged unfair business practices, the regulator’s Chairperson Ravneet Kaur said on Tuesday.

The watchdog had ordered detailed investigations against Google with respect to its alleged abuse of dominance in the smart television segment and in the news content space.

Speaking to reporters here, Kaur said the matter related to Google and smart television is under the commission’s inquiry.

Currently, the investigation is on in the matter of the news publishers’ complaint against Google, she said.

To another query, Kaur said that Apple is also under investigation.

“Once we receive the report from the DG, (and) CCI, we will take action,” she added.

The regulator had ordered an investigation against Apple for alleged anti-competitive practices with respect to its App Store.

The Director General (DG) is the investigation arm of the CCI. Cases where the regulator finds prima facie evidence of anti-competitive practices are referred for detailed probes by the DG.

With 92%, Google leads search engine market

In terms of the search engine market, Google has maintained its dominance, as it held 91.7 per cent by August this year, far ahead of Microsoft’s Bing, Yahoo, and DuckDuckGo.

Microsoft, which first introduced AI to its Bing search engine in an effort to compete with Google in the search engine market, held only three per cent of the market share, according to Techopedia.