Google is not just dominant but 'super dominant', CCI tells NCLAT

Argues that competition law puts onus on Google not to abuse its dominant position and not allow its conduct to impair genuine undistorted competition

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that Google is not just a ‘dominant’ undertaking but a ‘super dominant' one.

Defending the October 20, 2022 CCI ruling that penalised the tech giant Rs 1,337.76 crore for practices related to Android devices, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) N Venkataraman, appearing for CCI, argued that the order is based on sound economic principles governing business efficacies and accounts for technological aspects.

The ASG referred to economic principles such as entry barriers, market foreclosure, cross side network effects, cross-market data advantage, dynamic leveraging, cross-subsidization, status