ADIF files complaint with CCI against Google for anti-competitive practices

The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), an industry body for startup ecosystem and app developers, on Monday filed a complaint with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against technology major Google for alleged anti-competitive practices in online advertising.

The complaint outlined Google’s dominant position and alleged abusive behaviour in both the online search and online display advertising.

“The digital advertising landscape is critical for the growth and sustainability of India’s startup ecosystem. Our complaint to the CCI is a crucial step towards ensuring that this vital market operates on principles of fairness, transparency, and equitable competition,” said Prateek Jain, associate director, Startup and Alliances, ADIF.

“We believe that addressing these issues will not only benefit advertisers and publishers but will also foster innovation and create a more vibrant digital economy in India,” he added.

In its complaint, ADIF contends that Google’s control over major online platforms, coupled with the fact that it derives 97 per cent of its revenue from advertising, has led to practices that “stifle competition and adversely affect Indian businesses.”

It alleged that Google imposes unfair conditions on advertisers in the realm of online search advertising, through its Ad Policies. These include restrictions on call assets and prohibitions on third-party technical support.

The industry body also raised concerns about the opacity of Google’s ad ranking system, describing it as a “black-box approach” that leaves advertisers in the dark about the services they are paying for.

Furthermore, ADIF argued that Google’s practices regarding trademark usage in keyword bidding create an artificial inflation of advertisement prices.

“Google allows competitors to bid on trademarked keywords, leading to a bidding war that ultimately benefits Google at the expense of advertisers and trademark owners,” the complaint read.

ADIF’s complaint to CCI also addressed Google’s practices regarding YouTube ad inventory, alleging that the tech giant restricts advertisers’ choices by linking access to this inventory with the use of Google’s Display and Video 360 platform. The industry body argued that this practice forces advertisers to use only Google’s tools.

The development comes amid an ongoing spat between Indian developers and Google over its billing policy. Google had, in March, banned some 200 apps from 10 developers from its Play Store for alleged non-compliance with its user choice billing (UCB) system.

The apps were subsequently reinstated with in-app billing when the parties involved agreed to a four-month extension in the payment of pending fees related to services offered by the Play Store.

Several Indian startups had also filed pleas against Google’s billing policy last year in the Madras High Court, after which app developers escalated the issue to the apex court.

App developers have expressed concern over Google’s “arbitrary revenue share.” The tech major, developers said, was using its dominant position to charge exorbitant commissions of 15-30 per cent for its services.