CCI Rejects Display Ads Abuse Allegation Against Google Citing Lack of Evidence from ADIF [Read Order]

The Information in this case was filed by the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) under Section 19(1)(a) of the Competition Act, 2002 against Alphabet Inc., Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited, Google Asia Pacific Pte Limited and Google India Private Limited, alleging abuse of dominant position in the online search advertising services market in India through Google Ads Policies.

It also alleged abuse of the prohibition on third-party technical support ads, restriction on Call Ads on desktops, non-transparency in ad ranking, and competitor bidding on trademarked keywords.

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ADIF is described as an alliance of individuals, start-ups, and companies that aims to improve the start-up ecosystem in India and represents stakeholders such as app developers and digital businesses. The Opposite Parties are entities of the Google group, which operate various internet-related services and products.

Among several allegations, ADIF also argued that Google’s alleged abusive ad policies extend to its online display advertising services. The Commission observed that ADIF did not point out any specific part of a policy or conduct of Google to support this claim, nor did it provide examples or material evidence in this regard.

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Google submitted that ADIF had simply made a general claim about Display Ads without substantiation. The Commission explained that in the absence of supporting evidence, it would not be appropriate to take cognizance of such a claim.

Concerning other allegations, the Commission pointed out that these were substantially the same as issues already examined and decided in its earlier orders in the Matrimony.com and Vishal Gupta cases. Applying Section 26(2A) of the Act, which allows it to avoid re-inquiring into the same or substantially similar facts and issues, the Commission decided to close the case.

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