Recently a probe has been initiated against Google India by the CCI. The complaint was filed in Feb 20 and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) was dealing with the antitrust probe.
So what is the complaint about?
The complaint alleges that Google more prominently showcases its Google Pay app inside its Android app store in India, giving it an unfair advantage over apps of competitors which hurts consumers.
Though it might NOT be legally OK, this makes me wonder that when a company has worked hard to attain a leadership position wouldn’t it want to encash it by cross-selling and up-selling.
Doesn’t a Consumer Durable company use its database to sell say a Soundbar with a TV? Assuming that it’s a market leader, would that be a breach?
Don’t banks in the country try to sell you insurance or investment products? Infact there are banks with a robust Pan India network which don’t even entertain opening a new account till you buy an insurance or investment product. And yes, bank staff carries target for this. Isn’t it exploiting leadership position?
In FMCG, a new product launch (Say X) is always tagged to a successful product (say Y) already running in the channel. Distributors and dealers are given certain quantities of successful product Y only when they promise to pick certain quantities of the new product X. Isn’t this taking undue advantage of a dominant position? Of course, it is but all of this is offline and never recorded.
Unlike FMCG, every action of a digital organization leave a trail and might act as a proof against the organization. Therefore, they have no room for error.
Talking digital ecosystems, how about a telecom service provider pushing its own apps to users taking advantage of their user base. Does that qualify as a breach?
If we look around closely we might end up finding countless such instances being overlooked.
What’s your observation?
