Junior antitrust researchers spark India’s Google probe

Two junior Indian antitrust research associates and a law school student were behind a complaint that sparked a probe into Google’s alleged anti-competitive practices in the country, in what has become another regulatory challenge for the U.S. firm.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered a full-blown investigation into Alphabet Inc’s Google in April for alleged abuse of its Android platform to hurt rivals, but the complainants’ names came to light only when the order was made public last week.

The case was filed by Umar Javeed and Sukarma Thapar, who work as research associates at the CCI, and Umar’s brother Aaqib, a law school student who interned with the CCI briefly in 2018, their LinkedIn profiles showed. All three declined interview requests for this article.