Searching for Google: Will legal hurdles threaten tech giant’s grip on India?
Google appears to be hurdling as many regulatory barriers lately in India as the answers its search engine generates in response to a query. Ironically, the latest in the list of uncomfortable questions is the Mountain View giant’s alleged role in limiting local consumers’ choice, contrary to what the encyclopaedic Google search engine is actually designed to offer.
Last Friday, the Competition Commission of India (CCI ) prima facie ordered a probe to examine Google’s Play Store billing policies after Indian companies raised concerns about hosting their apps on the go-to consumer platform.
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“Every regulator worldwide that has looked at this sector has come to very similar conclusions, and the CCI has been among the leading agencies on this,” Tom Smith, competition lawyer at Geradin Partners in London and a former legal director at the UK’s competition agency, told ET.
He added that regulators have found the way Google
