Alphabet Inc's Google is facing a new antitrust case in India in which the U.S. tech giant is alleged to have abused its Android operating system's position in the smart television market, a source and two lawyers involved in the case told Reuters.
The Competition Commission of India has since June been looking into allegations that Google engages in anti-competitive practices by creating barriers for firms wanting to use or develop modified versions of Android for smart TVs, such as Amazon Fire TV's operating system, according to the source, who has direct knowledge of the case.
Unlike Indian court cases, filings and details of cases reviewed by the CCI are not disclosed publicly. Data from Counterpoint Research shows 8 million smart TV sets were sold in India in 2019. Three in five smart TVs sold in India are based on Google's Android system, which also powers nearly 99per cent of India's half a billion smartphone user base.
And in reverse, if a company's smart TV is using Amazon's Fire operating system, then that company is restricted from offering Google's popular Play Store or the Google maps app on its smartphones.