Google fined ₹ 32,000 crores: India, US, EU taking strict steps

The second largest court of the European Union has imposed an antitrust fine of $ 4.1 billion (about 32,000 crore Indian rupees) on Google. Google was accused of using its dominance to eliminate competition. The court held that Google had broken the antitrust law. Google has done this by using its Android smartphone technology and its dominance in that market to strengthen its search engine leadership.

Just before this, lawmakers imposed a combined fine of $ 71 million (about Rs 565 crore) on Alphabet and Meta for privacy violations in South Korea. The investigation revealed that Google was collecting and studying user data, and was monitoring the use of its website. In the past few years, Google and other big tech giants have been under pressure around the world over their monopolistic practices.

India too seems to be gearing up against the antitrust and monopoly behaviour of these technology firms. This could make the road difficult for Google, as it is losing battle after battle in different parts of the world. In India, several steps are being taken under the leadership of CCI and MEITY in which the anti-trust behaviour of companies like Google along with Indian News Publishers has been seriously challenged. A parliamentary committee is also looking into the matter.

As per reports, Rajiv Chandrashekhar, Minister of State (MEITY) for Electronics and IT, is leading India's Role and Response in the Global EntryTrust Drive. He is focusing on making social media platforms more transparent in their operations. In particular, it is being focused that these social media platforms follow the rules and regulations of India in the interest of the people. Strict rules are being churned out.

The Competition Committee of India (CCI), an antitrust watchdog under the Government of India, is also proceeding on a petition filed by DNPA (Digital News Publishers Association) against Google. The petition states that Google does not share a fair amount of advertising revenue with news publishers. The petition has sought proper revenue sharing. India's leading media organizations have come together to make the revenue-sharing model transparent.