India’s competition regulator fined Google $161.9 million for anti-competitive practices

India’s competition regulator has fined Google $161.9 million for anti-competitive practices in relation to Android mobile devices.

According to the Competition Commission of India, Google abused "its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android Mobile device ecosystem" by "requiring device manufacturers to pre-install its entire Google Mobile Suite and mandating prominent placement of those apps."

This "amounts to imposition of unfair condition on the device manufacturers" and thus was in "contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Act," the CCI wrote in a statement seen by Techloy.

India, which currently has almost 700 million Internet users as of September 2022, is Google’s largest market by users with search market share at 96% as of September 2022, according to DataReportal.

Interestingly, Google's Android operating system powers 97% of India's 600 million smartphones, according to research firm Counterpoint.