CCI probes Google AdWords program

Acting on a complaint issued against Google AdWords, by popular matchmaking portal in the country, BharatMatrimony.com, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has initiated an antitrust investigation, probing the search giant’s online advertising practices in the country. This report follows an initial report by The Economic Times about a complaint that was filed by BharatMatrimony.com stating that Google “abused its dominance by engaging in discriminatory and retaliatory practices relating to AdWords.” Elaborating on this, the report revealed that Bharatmatrimony.com, in their complaint stated that Google AdWords sold keywords relating to Bharatmatrimony.com to the site's rival portals, such as Shaadi.com. In a statement issued, thereafter, the company (Bharatmatrimony.com) was quoted as stating, “We have requested the Commission to investigate Google's practices and impose remedial measures to protect competition.”

Fresh trouble!

In his statement, S.L.Bunker, the secretary of the commission that can impose fines on companies found guilty of violating competition law was quoted as saying that the entire investigation will take a couple of months to conclude. He further added that they are investigating Google, and that they are currently investigating on the information provided by the matrimonial website for verification. Google, however, claimed to be in the possession of no such communication from the CCI, and were quoted as saying, "Though competition is always a click away, we understand that with success comes scrutiny. We have not received any communication from the CCI, but we're always happy to answer questions about our business, and we're confident that our products are compliant with competition law in India", according to an Information Week report.

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