Globally, this is one of the rare cases where Google has been penalised for unfair business ways.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI), which is country's antitrust watchdog on Thursday imposed a fine of Rs 136 crore on search engine major Google for unfair business practices in the Indian market for online search.
Passing the order on complaints that were filed back in 2012, the regulator said the penalty is being imposed on Google for "infringing antitrust conduct".
Globally, this is one of the rare cases where Google has been penalised for unfair business ways.
"Google was found to be indulging in practices of search bias and by doing so, it causes harm to its competitors as well as to users," the CCI said in its order.
It was alleged that Google is indulging in abuse of dominant position in the market for online search through practices leading to search bias and search manipulation, among others.
According to the CCI order, the penalty amount of Rs 135.86 crore translates to 5 percent of the company's average total revenue generated from India operations from its different business segments for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015.
The regulator said that it has given thoughtful consideration on the submissions made by Google on the issue of penalty and found it appropriate to impose a fine.
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 company will need to deposit the fine within 60 days, the commission said.
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