[bestbits] need for regulation ....

[Guru गुरु]

Dear all,

Not clear, how in Multistakeholderism, where the private sector has an 
equal footing in public policy making, we will get Google to agree that 
its search algorithm, as the key factor organising the worlds 
information/knowledge for all of us, needs to be public knowledge, not a 
commercial secret. The need for it to be public knowledge stems from 
privacy/surveillance concerns, because such fundamental knowledge ought 
to be available as 'cultural commons' that others can 
take/re-use/revise, fostering competition etc.

regards,
Guru

Google faces Rs 30,500-cr fine in India
New Delhi, PTI: March 9, 2014

  Google can face a penalty of up to about $5 billion if it is found to 
have violated competition norms of the country.  Google, which is facing 
anti-trust investigation in India by fair trade watchdog Competition 
Commission of India (CCI), can face a penalty of up to about $5 billion 
(Rs 30,500 crore) if it is found to have violated competition norms of 
the country.

Google said it is “extending full cooperation” to the CCI in its 
investigation. The conclusion of a two-year review by the US antitrust 
watchdog has concluded that the company's services were good for 
competition, it added. The case has been before the CCI for over two 
years now, and it relates to allegations that Google is abusing its 
dominant position. Under competition regulations, an entity found 
violating the norms could be slapped with penalty of up to 10 per cent 
of its three-year annual average turnover. In the case of Google, its 
annual revenues in the last three years amounts to a staggering $49.3 
billion (Rs 3.01 lakh crore), and the maximum penalty can be up to 
nearly $5 billion.

When asked about the ongoing probe and the potential penalty, a Google 
spokesperson said: “We are extending full co-operation to the 
Competition Commission of India in their investigation.”  The emailed 
statement added: “We're pleased that the conclusion of the Federal Trade 
Commission's two-year review was that Google's services are good for 
users and good for competition.”

A complaint filed with the CCI cannot be withdrawn. The complaint 
against Google, also one of the world's most valued company, was first 
filed by advocacy group CUTS International way back in late 2011. Later. 
Matrimonial website matrimony.com Private Ltd also filed a complaint. 
Last year, CCI chairman Ashok Chawla had said the complaint was that the 
Google search engine favours platforms it wants to support.

“That is, when you click on Google under a certain category, you will 
get the platforms where there is a tendency to put them in a certain 
order which may not be the fair and non-discriminatory. So, *what is the 
software and what is the algorithmic search, (that is) what the 
investigation team is looking at,” *Chawla had said.

source - 
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/390977/google-faces-rs-30500-cr.html
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