Google accused of not following CCI order in India

Internet search and tech company Google has been accused of not fully following the order of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in India. Epic Games alleges that its App Store is not being hosted on Google’s Play Store app. This could become a new legal dispute in the country for Alphabet, the American company that runs Google.

After facing defeat in an appeal against the CCI order, Google had said that it will change its Android business model and will not force device makers to pre-install Google’s apps like YouTube or Chrome. However, Epic Games has said in a case filed last week in an appeals tribunal that Google has not fully complied with the CCI directive. Google was asked to host third-party app stores on the Play Store and allow apps to be downloaded without using the Play Store.

Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite, operates its own App Store, which offers games and other apps for download. The firm’s director, Bakari Middleton, told Reuters in a statement: “We want to join the court with Indian developers in supporting the CCI’s order asking Google to allow competing third-party app stores Was.” Even before this, Epic Games has campaigned against Apple and Google for taking more commission for the App Store.

The CCI did not respond to a query sent in this regard. CCI Google expressed concern about the order because it is more strict than the European Commission’s decision against Android four years ago. About 97 percent of the 600 million smartphones in the country run on Android. In Europe, this figure is about 75 percent for about 550 million smartphones. In October last year, the CCI fined Alphabet about $161 million for abusing its dominant position in the Android market.