Mint Primer: This can change the way you tap the internet
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. In August this year, Google was ruled as stifling competition in the search engines business through exclusivity deals, as well as owning the Android operating system and the Chrome web browser. In April next year, Google and the US Department of Justice will present what they believe are ideal ‘remedies’ to take, while in August, a final ruling will be issued.
Regulators in the US have proposed forcing Google to stop signing deals with the likes of Apple and Mozilla, while Google’s government affairs president, Kent Walker, labelled the approach “a radical interventionist agenda." A final call hasn’t been taken yet. In January 2022, a group of news publishers in India filed a complaint alleging unfair ad revenue shares from Search. India’s Competition Commission (CCI) has since conducted a prolonged investigation, and the final findings along with legal verdicts on it are imminent.
That said, the CCI has fined Google nearly $270 million already for its mobile applications marketplace and operating system dominance in India, suggesting an approach that is largely in line with the US and the European Union. All of these verdicts remain sub-judice, with Google having appealed them in India too. Search is Google’s core business in terms of revenue.
As of the September quarter, Search and related products earned the company $49.4 billion, accounting for most of its revenue. Chrome, meanwhile, remains the world’s biggest web browser, with a market share of 68% as of September. For Google, protecting these two businesses is key.
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