The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is going to ask Google whether its purchase of 7.73% stake in Jio platforms includes any data-sharing agreement, the Economic Times reported. The antitrust regulator is reportedly looking into the possibility of data sharing that can affect competition, especially in the handset industry. The CCI has been looking closely into the business dealings of Jio Platforms, which has attracted massive investments from all over the globe, including Silver Lake, Vista, General Atlantic, Qualcomm Ventures, and tech giants Facebook and Google. Jio Platforms, which is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, owns the Jio telecommunications business, along with other OTT platforms like JioMart, JioTV, JioCinema, JioChat and JioMeet. Unnamed sources told Economic Times that CCI is likely to ask Google to explain its data-sharing with Jio, not unlike how other antitrust regulators in the world are doing in cases of deals between "big player[s]". Implications on phone manufacturing in India A source told Economic Times that CCI would study how Google's investment in Jio Platforms would affect handset development and manufacturing. CCI has reportedly reached out to various stakeholders, including device makers, to understand the possible implications of the deal. Google's Android OS is currently the market leader in the mobile phone market — 95% of all smartphones in India use Android. Meanwhile, Jio has the largest market share (34.33% in May) in the telecom market. The CCI is reportedly looking into whether there are any exclusive arrangements between Google and Jio, and what this…
