After assessing a complaint, the watchdog has reached the prima-facie view that Google is dominant in the relevant market for licensable smart TV device operating systems in India. In a 24-page order, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that prima-facie mandatory pre-installation of all the Google applications under TADA amounts to imposition of unfair conditions on the smart TV device manufacturers. This is contravention of Section 4(2)(a) of the Competition Act, the regulator said, adding that it also “amounts to prima facie leveraging of Google’s dominance in Play Store to protect the relevant markets such as online video hosting services offered by YouTube, etc”.

The latter contravenes Section 4(2)(e) of the Act and all these aspects warrant a detailed investigation, CCI said in the order dated June 22. TADA refers to Television App Distribution Agreement Section 4 pertains to abuse of dominant position. A Google spokesperson said, “we are confident that our smart TV licensing practices are in compliance with all applicable competition laws”. “The emerging smart TV sector in India is thriving, due in part to Google’s free licensing model and Android TV competes with numerous well-established TV OSs such as FireOS, Tizen, and WebOS,” the spokesperson said. The regulator said the company enters into two agreements with Android TV licensees, TADA and Android Compatibility Commitment (ACC).