ADIF challenges Google’s dominant position, ‘abusive behaviour’ with CCI

NEW DELHI — The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) on Monday said it has filed a comprehensive complaint with the Competition Commission of India (CCI), bringing to light Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices in the online advertising sphere.

In the complaint, the ADIF outlined Google’s dominant position and “purportedly abusive behaviour” in both the online search advertising and online display advertising markets.

The apex body representing homegrown startups alleged that Google’s control over major online platforms, coupled with the fact that it derives 97 per cent of its revenue from advertising, “has led to practices that stifle competition and adversely affect Indian businesses.”

Prateek Jain, Associate Director-Startup and Alliances, Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), said the digital advertising landscape is critical for the growth and sustainability of India’s startup ecosystem.

“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,” Jain added.

The complaint highlighted how Google imposes unfair conditions on advertisers in the realm of online search advertising, through its Ad Policies.

According to the ADIF, these included restrictions on call assets and prohibitions on third-party technical support. The foundation also raised 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.

Furthermore, ADIF argued 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 foundation also highlights inconsistencies in Google’s ad policy enforcement and the lack of transparency in its ad review and redressal processes. These practices often result in unfair denial of access to Google’s online search advertising platform for many advertisers.

In the display advertising market, ADIF’s complaint exposes how Google leverages its dominance across the entire value chain of the ad tech stack. Google engages in self-preferencing by tying its products together, such as DoubleClick for Publishers with AdX, and Display & Video 360 with AdX.

ADIF emphasised that as digital advertising spend continues to grow rapidly in India, it is imperative to address these market imbalances promptly.