ADIF Files Complaint With CCI Against Google's Alleged Anti-Competitive Practices

The Alliance of Digital India Foundation on Monday lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission of India against Google, accusing the tech giant of anti-competitive practices in online advertising.

ADIF's complaint targets Google's alleged dominance and "purportedly abusive behaviour" in the markets for online search and display advertisements.

According to ADIF, Google's substantial control over major online platforms and its heavy reliance on advertising revenue stifles competition and adversely affects Indian businesses.

"ADIF contends that Google's control over major online platforms, coupled with the fact that it derives 97% of its revenue from advertising, has led to practices that stifle competition and adversely affect Indian businesses," the statement said.

Queries sent to Google by PTI did not elicit any response.

ADIF, the policy thinktank focusing on Indian digital startups, also voiced 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.

"ADIF argues 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 statement said.

ADIF said inconsistencies in Google's ad policy enforcement and the lack of transparency in its ad review and redressal processes result in unfair denial of access to Google's online search advertising platform for many advertisers.

"Our complaint to the CCI is a crucial step towards ensuring that this vital market operates on principles of fairness, transparency, and equitable competition. 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,” said Prateek Jain, associate director of startup and alliances, ADIF.

The complaint highlighted how Google leverages its dominance across the entire value chain of the ad tech stack, according to the statement.

"Google engages in self-preferencing by tying its products together, such as DoubleClick for Publishers with AdX, and Display & Video 360 with AdX. This practice restricts market access for competitors and negatively impacts startups that rely on these services."

"ADIF is particularly concerned over Google's Privacy Sandbox initiative, which aims to remove third-party cookies from websites accessed via the Google Chrome browser. This move could significantly hamper non-Google Demand Side Platforms' ability to serve advertisers effectively," it said.

As digital advertising spending continues to grow rapidly in India, it is imperative to address these market imbalances promptly, ADIF said.

"The foundation expresses hope that the CCI's investigation will prompt Google to voluntarily address some of these concerns. ADIF anticipates that the CCI will implement both behavioral and structural remedies to counter Google's alleged abuse of its dominant position," it said.

(With Inputs From PTI)