The Competition Commission of India has dismissed a case which alleged that Google's integration of its videoconferencing service Meet with the Gmail App amounted to anti-competitive behaviour. The case was filed by Baglekar Akash Kumar, a student at Hyderabad's Osmania University, against Google LLC and Google India alleging contravention of the Competition Act. Kumar said Google was dominant in the "internet-related services and products" and the Gmail app was dominant in the "email and direct messaging market". The company's integration of Meet with Gmail amounted to abuse of dominant position in one relevant market to enter another, which amounts to a violation under Section 4(2)(e) of the Competition Act, Kumar claimed. However, the Commission ruled that users can choose between either of the apps with all functions, without having to use the other. Further, although the Google Meet tab has been integrated with the Gmail app, users are not coerced to use Meet exclusively, and are free to use any another videoconferencing app. The Informant has not placed any substantive material on record in support of his contention that Google is a dominant player in the relevant market. ...anyone with a Google Account (not necessarily a Gmail User) can create an online meeting using Google Meet. Further, for creating a Google account, the user need not be a user of Gmail. He/she can use email ID created on any other platform for creating a Google account. Thus, Google Meet is available as an independent app outside the Gmail ecosystem also. …
