India's fair trade watchdog has fined global internet search giant Google 21 million U.S. dollars over competition abuse.
The Competition Commission of India imposed the fine on Google Thursday for "infringing anti-trust conduct" by abusing its dominance and biased search practices in the country on complaints filed by a matrimonial website and a non-profit body in 2012.
"Google was found to be indulging in practices of search bias and by doing so, it causes harm to its competitors as well as to users. Google now has 60 days to deposit the fine," the commission said.
The penalty amount translates to 5 percent of the company's average total revenue generated from India operations from its different business segments for the financial years 2013, 2014 and 2015, it added.
In a statement, a Google spokesperson said "we have always focused on innovating to support the evolving needs of our users. The Competition Commission of India has confirmed that, on the majority of issues it examined, our conduct complies with Indian competition laws."
"(However) we are reviewing the narrow concerns identified by the Commission and will assess our next steps," the spokesperson added.
