1. INTRODUCTION
The Competition Commission of India
("CCI") directed the Director General
("DG") to conduct an
investigation1 into the alleged anti-competitive conduct
of Google in the market concerning smart television
("Smart TV")
("CCI Order"). The complaint was filed
by two individuals ("Complainants"), who
are consumers of Android-based smartphones and Smart TV
devices.
The Complainants alleged that Google abused its dominance and
imposed vertical restraints on Smart TV and smart mobile device
original equipment manufacturers
("OEMs")2 by way of
television app distribution agreement
("TADA") and Android compatibility
commitment ("ACC") which inter
alia resulted in: (i) bundling of Google's play store
("Play Store") with the operating system
("OS") for television devices, i.e.
Android TV; (ii) pre-installation of Play Store in Smart TV
devices; (iii) restricting OEMs to deal with competing forked
Android OS; (iv) non-availability of Play Store to other
