April 22 : Tech giant Google on Monday resolved a nearly four-year-old case with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) concerning alleged anti-competitive practices in the Android Smart TV market by agreeing to revise its agreements with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and paying ₹20.24 crore as a settlement amount.
The CCI antitrust ruling marks the first settlement of a case under the amended Competition Act, which introduced settlement and commitment provisions in 2023.
As part of the resolution, Google proposed changes to its vendor agreements to address the CCI’s concerns and received a 15 per cent discount on the settlement amount, news agency PTI reported.
Chairperson Ravneet Kaur and members Sweta Kakkad and Deepak Anurag issued the CCI’s 28-page majority order approving the settlement. Member Anil Agarwal, however, issued a dissenting opinion.
Monday’s settlement order also coincided with the visit of US Vice President JD Vance, who began his four-day trip to India. This comes as India looks to strike a deal with the US during the 90-day pause on high tariffs announced by President Donald Trump.
What were the allegations against Google?
Google was accused of abusing its dominant position by imposing restrictive terms on OEMs, such as mandating the bundling of the Play Store with the Android TV operating system and blocking the use or development of rival forked Android versions through its Anti-Fragmentation Agreements.
These actions were alleged to have hindered market access, reduced competition, imposed unrelated conditions on OEMs, and ultimately stifled innovation—violating Section 4 of the Competition Act.
Summary: Google resolved its Android TV antitrust case with India’s CCI, paying ₹20.24 crore and allowing more freedom to manufacturers in app and OS selection.