Shruti Mishra
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Abstract:
The Matrimony.com Limited v. Google LLC and CUTS v. Google LLC cases (Case Nos. 07 and 30 of 2012) revolve around allegations of Google's abuse of dominance in online search and advertising services in India. The informants, Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) and Matrimony.com Limited, claimed that Google favored its own services and partners by manipulating search results, thus harming advertisers and consumers. They argued that Google's dominant position in the market allowed it to access confidential information, manipulate ad services, and restrict user choices. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) found Google to be dominant in both relevant markets, supported by its high market share and user preference in India. While the CCI acknowledged the "status quo bias" influencing user choices, it concluded that Google's actions constituted an abuse of dominance by imposing restrictive conditions, violating Section 4 of the Competition Act. However, the CCI's decision on Google's default browser agreements was contentious, as they did not explicitly restrict user choices but influenced user behavior. In summary, these cases highlight Google's dominance and its impact on the online search and advertising markets in India, ultimately leading to a finding of abuse of dominance under the Competition Act.
Keywords
Case Analysis
CUTS v. Google LLC
Matrimony.com Limited v. Google LLC
Citation
Shruti Mishra. (2023). GOOGLE MATRIMONY CASE. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8415174