The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has dismissed a complaint alleging abuse of dominant position by Google by integrating the Meet App into the Gmail App. The complaint stated that the integration of Google Meet (a video conferencing facility offered by Google) into the Gmail (an emailing facility offered by Google) by OPs contravenes the provisions of Section 4(2)(e) of the Competition Act. Due to the pandemic, virtual meetings had increased exponentially and Google has used its dominant position in e-mail services to enter another relevant market of videoconferencing.
CCI noted that the users of Gmail are not forced to necessarily use Google Meet, and there does not appear to be any adverse consequences on the users of Gmail for not using Google Meet, such as withdrawal of Gmail or any of its functionalities or other services that are so far being provided by Google. It observed that anyone with a Google Account (not necessarily a Gmail User) can create an online meeting using Google Meet. Therefore, the CCI closed the complaint observing that regardless of whether Gmail is a dominant app or not in the relevant market of providing email services in India, the conduct of Google does not violate the provisions of Section 4(2)(e) of the Act.