It was 2012 when Google was alleged to be “manually manipulating its search”, which led to an order against the tech giant six years later and an imposition of a whopping fine of Rs 135.86 crore on February 8th of this year. Matrimony.com, then known as Consim Info Private Limited and Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) were the parties who took Google to Competition Commission of India (CCI) for biased search results. Now, it is being reported that Google has challenged the order in National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.

Here’s how Google was found guilty of unfair practices and search bias:

The accusations:

Matrimony.com had alleged that Google was creating an uneven playing field by favouring its own services through manually manipulating its search results to the advantage of its vertical partners such as Youtube, Google News and Google maps, leading to discriminatory advertising. Google was alleged of mixing many of its vertical results into its organic search results: If a user searches for the name of a song on Google, he receives links to videos of that song
from Google Video or YouTube, irrespective of the fact whether they are the most popular or relevant sites.

The investigation:

The entire investigation was centred around the design of Google’s ‘Search Engine Result Page’ and if it was using it to cause search bias to benefit its own allied services.

The Directorate General of CCI at first observed that Google enjoyed a dominant position despite the long-standing presence of other competitors like Yahoo! and Microsoft Bing and the entry of new players in the market. The investigation further found that Google was indulging in practices of search bias (for its own services) and by doing so, it causes harm to its competitors as well as to users.

Google blends its vertical search services with online general web search services using mechanisms that do not apply in an “equivalent manner” to non-Google websites. Moreover, it also offers its own “specialised” search features at prominent ranks leading to top results receiving higher user attention critical for online visibility. Through this practice, Google steers users to its own products and services and produces biased results.

Google’s response:

Google acknowledged that “there exist websites that provide search services for specific content categories that compete with Google in those areas” but continued to maintain that vertical search services do not compete with general search services.

It also said that since Google’s search is free, it has no trading relationship with the users of its search service, and so the basis for establishing dominance is absent.

The verdict:

CCI found Google to have abused its dominant position in online general web search and web search advertising services in India. CCI noted in its order that Google through its search design has not only placed its commercial flight unit at a prominent position on SERP, but it has also allocated disproportionate real estate to the disadvantage of verticals trying to gain market access. It also found that ranking of Universal Results prior to 2010 were pre-determined to trigger at the 1st, 4th or 10th position on the SERP “instead of by their “relevance.

CCI has also observed in its order that Google was leveraging its dominance in the market for online general web search, to strengthen its position in the market for online syndicate search services. The competitors were denied access to the online search syndication services market due to such a conduct. Found indulged in practices unfair to the users, Google was slapped by CCI with a penalty of Rs 135.86 crore.

CCI noted that Google has made the display of such results on a free-floating basis, and hence, did not issue any cease order and only directed Google to desist from such a practice in future.