Google is appealing to India's Supreme Court to overturn antitrust orders linked to alleged Android market misuse, contesting the charges and penalties imposed by the Competition Commission of India.
According to Reuters, Google has asked India’s Supreme Court to overturn antitrust orders placed on the firm for its alleged misuse of the Android market. In one of its most important markets, Google is still fighting the country’s competition authority in court.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) charged Google with abusing its monopoly in the Indian smartphone market in October. Around 600 million handsets in the country use the Android mobile operating system, thus the CCI ordered Google to lift a number of restrictions imposed on device makers, notably with regard to pre-installed apps. Google also received a $163 million fine, which it swiftly paid.
The parent firm of Google, Alphabet, received some respite in March when an Indian court overturned four of the ten orders that the CCI had first issued. The tribunal overturned some orders requiring Google to change its business model while admitting the CCI’s conclusions regarding Google’s anti-competitive behaviour as accurate.
Google is currently requesting the Supreme Court’s intervention to invalidate the remaining orders, according to a source familiar with the situation who spoke to Reuters. According to the same source, Google also claims that it has not misused its market position and should not be subject to any penalties in its most recent filing, which was made on Monday.
In a statement, Google acknowledged the submission and expressed its eagerness to argue its position and outline the advantages Android provides both users and developers.
The Indian tribunal’s decision noted that authorities must prove the harm brought about by anti-competitive action, but it did not apply this criterion to a number of the CCI’s Android-related directives. The present challenge from Google seeks to explain the justification for their opposition.
On the other hand, according to Reuters, the CCI has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the tribunal’s ruling in order to reinstate the orders that were dismissed.
Google has expressed serious concerns about the Indian tribunal’s judgement on Android because the guidelines were deemed to be of a wider scope than those imposed by the European Commission in its historic decision against the operating system in 2018.
Google has recently made significant adjustments to Android in India in accordance with the recommendations. For instance, in order to address some of the issues raised by the CCI, the business now permits device manufacturers to license specific apps for pre-installation.
