Google India Antitrust Watchdog Tussle Court Over Probe Leak

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Google India Antitrust Watchdog Tussle Court Over Probe Leak
28 Jan 2023
6 min read

News Synopsis

Latest Updated on 28 January 2023

According to court papers released on Saturday, Google has launched a legal challenge in India's Supreme Court to overturn a judgment by the nation's antitrust authority that will force the US corporation to alter how it promotes its Android Platform.

In October the Competition Commission of India fined the Alphabet Inc. division $161 million for misusing its dominant position in the Android market, which powers 97% of Indian smartphones and is a significant growth area for the US giant.

The lawsuit was filed after Google was successful in its effort to get the antitrust ruling blocked on Wednesday. The corporation contended that the CCI's proposals will harm both its long-standing Business Model and the interests of consumers.

According to Supreme Court documents Google challenged the tribunal's decision on Saturday. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.

On Thursday, Reuters was the first to report on Google's intended course of action.

Early this week sources told Reuters that Google saw a legal challenge as its final chance to stop the CCI's decision, which will force the corporation to change its business model starting on January 19.

According to a person with knowledge of the situation on Saturday, Google's Supreme Court submission asks for a stay of the CCI decision while its appeal is heard.

The Indian ruling has upset Google since it is believed to be more expansive in its remedies than the European Commission's landmark 2018 decision for placing unjustified limitations on manufacturers of Android mobile devices. In that instance, Google has contested the record-breaking $4.3 billion fine.

A Google representative did not answer right away.

The CCI decided in October that the pre-installation of Google search services, the Chrome browser, YouTube, or any other Google apps "must not be associated with the licensing of Google's Play Store."

Last Updated on 25 September 2021

According to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) Google abused its dominant position in India. with its Android Operating System, illegally harming competitors with its "Huge Financial Muscle." Google filed a lawsuit against the CCI in the Delhi High Court, claiming it was "to prevent any further unlawful disclosures of confidential findings," they said, "Protesting against the breach of confidence." Google's lawyer accused the Centre of Constitutional Information (CCI) of leaking information in order to "give a dog a bad name in advance and then hang him." "The leakage cannot continue for another minute," Singhvi requested the court to inform the CCI. The CCI's lawyer denied the allegations, claiming that Google was attempting to obstruct the investigation. Justice Rekha Palli noted both parties' submissions in her order and scheduled a new hearing for Monday. The company may have used its market dominance to force device manufacturers to pre-install its apps, according to the investigation. Device manufacturers had no access to alternative versions of its mobile operating system. Google declined to comment following the hearing, and the CCI did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

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