CCI imposes fine on Google for unfair business practices

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has slapped a fine of Rs 136 crore on search engine biggie Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search.

Reacting on the complaints that were filed back in 2012, the regulator said the penalty is being imposed on Google for "infringing anti-trust conduct". Incidentally, this is one of the rare cases where Google has been penalized for unfair business ways globally.

It was alleged that taking advantage of its dominant position in search engine, Google is indulging in such practices leading to search bias and search manipulation, among others. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that it found it appropriate to impose a fine on Google after it has given thoughtful consideration on the submissions made by the search engine major on issue of penalty.

The ruling has come on complaints filed by Matrimony.com and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) - back in 2012 - against Google LLC, Google India Pvt Ltd and Google Ireland Ltd.

The Google case has been going on since 2012, when cases filed by CUTS, a consumer organization led by Pradeep Mehta, and Consim, a matrimonial website and Google AdWords customer.

Tags: CCI, competition commission of india, search engine biggie Google, Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market, CUTS, Google LLC, Google India Pvt Ltd, Google Ireland Ltd, Google AdWords, Google AdWords customer, varindia