Recently, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) opened an inquiry against Google based on a complaint from the bingo-style online gaming business WINZO regarding Google AI development . According to WINZO, Google restricts the visibility of real money gaming applications on Google Play Store, while the same are legal under the Indian Supreme Court. The gaming company argues that Google’s Developer Distribution Agreement unreasonably limits the rights of the developer while at the same time placing unreasonable demands for developers who wish to access the Play Store.
Critics of Google’s Play Store Policies
WINZO has accused Google of bias specifically in the restriction of real money gaming apps in India. The company argues that such apps can only be downloaded through sideloads from the official app websites rather than the Play Store. As per WINZO, this policy is rather unproportioned and leads to market deception and negative impacts on the developers such as WINZO. They claim that Google AI development practices bias Google’s actions toward certain applications as opposed to others. WINZO explained this has placed the company’s app at a disadvantage in the competitive Indian market as follows.
Google’s Response and Justification
Google for its part has come out to defend its actions stating that it had to remove real money games from the Play Store since there is legal and regulatory ambiguity in India with regards to such apps. The company also said that it implements such measures to conform to local rules; however, the Google AI development component is still a contentious issue, especially when the AI algorithms that Google uses to control app submissions may well be discriminating in favour or against some developers.
Past Antitrust Probe and Current Legal Proceedings
Google has earlier also been in the news regarding similar issues in India. Earlier in 2022, the CCI had slapped a penalty of Rs 2,274 crore on Google for antitrust violations in the country. Besides the investigation in India, Google is under investigation in several countries for its Google AI development in the advertising sector, which raised competition and monopolistic issues.
The CCI has asked its director general to conclude the investigation in 60 days and file a report. The result of this case might have an impact on how Google navigates the Indian market and other similar cases around the world may affect further Google AI advancement.
Source:: economictimes.indiatimes.com
