Weekly Antitrust and Data Privacy Updates

This week’s Antitrust and Data Privacy Updates are as follows –

Google fined by CCI for Anti-Competitive Practices

In the decision by the Competition Commission of India, passed on 21 October 2022, the antitrust watchdog slapped Alphabet Inc., the parent company of the tech platform Google, with a $162 Million penalty. The CCI adjudged Google to have abused its dominant position in the market, in relation to the Android Platform in the smartphone market. The decision passed by the CCI restrains Google from entering into revenue-sharing agreements with smartphone manufacturing companies, and making certain changes to their Android Platform strategies, such as removing the requirement where the manufacturers are mandatorily required to pre-install Google software in order to obtain the licenses for Android Play Store. In a comment on the decision, Google has called this CCI decision a major setback for Android users in India.

Australia Proposes Legislation to Penalize Data Breaches

In light of the recent Optus Data Breach, which led to the theft of data of millions of people, the Australian Government announced upcoming legislation aimed at increasing penalties for data breach incidents. Quoting the current security measures by companies to be inadequate, the government intends to spur the companies into action and take the security of data more seriously by increasing the penalties for incidents of data breaches. Australia has observed two major data breach incidents in recent weeks, with Medibank Private Limited getting hit by a data theft attack weeks after the significant Optus data breach.

Amazon Faces Potential Class-Action Damages Claim in UK for $1 Billion

Amazon could potentially face a class-action litigation in the UK for antitrust claims related to the recommendation algorithm on their platform. The ‘Buy Box’ on the Amazon website is alleged to have shown only recommendations that favoured the products sold by Amazon itself. This potential suit comes while the company is also facing inquiries regarding the criteria for the products which are featured in the ‘Buy Box’. The company was also fined recently by Italy for abuse of its dominant position. The estimated amount sought by the plaintiffs in the class action suit values at about £900 Million for this anti-competitive behavior.