Recently, Google India was relieved by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in a case about alleged favouritism towards the caller identification app Truecaller. 

The complaint, filed by Rachna Khaira in 2023, claimed that Google had given exclusive access to user contact information to Truecaller, unfairly benefiting the app in the caller ID sector. 

Khaira requested equal treatment for all apps and a fine for Google’s alleged unfair practices.

Following a comprehensive examination, the CCI made a ruling on June 24 stating that the allegations against Google were found to be groundless. This decision was based on a lack of evidence supporting Khaira’s claims.

The commission found no violations of Section 4 of the Competition Act and rejected Khaira’s plea for relief.

Google India responded to the allegations by stating that its commercial agreements with Truecaller did not include any special provisions related to sharing non-public or private contacts.

Google India emphasised that the complaint was based on misconceptions about Truecaller’s privacy practices and clarified that the app strictly requires user authorisation to access contact information and does not collect or share any user contact information without consent.