Google said Friday it would cooperate with India’s competition authority after the Supreme Court upheld tough antitrust directives that forced the US company to change how it deals with its popular Android platform in a key growth market.
Google stated in an “Antitrust Issues” section of a filing made before the Supreme Court of India that it “would assist with the Indian administration.”
In October Month, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) led that Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O)-owned Google took advantage of its dominant position in Android and asked device makers to lift restrictions, including those related to pre-installation include and ensure the uniqueness of your search. It also fined Google $161 million.
Google concerning India’s decision, as the actions are broader than those imposed in the landmark 2018 European Commission decision against Android. Counterpoint Research estimates that about 97% of the 600 million smart-phones in India run on Android, while the system accounts for 75% of the 550 million smart-phones in Europe.
On Thursday, Google lost a challenge in India’s Supreme Court to block CCI’s directions, giving it seven days to comply, a move that could change the way the company reaches deals with device makers will force.
A Google spokesperson told Reuters that the company “remains dedicated to our users and partners and will work with the ICC moving ahead.”
“We are reviewing the details of yesterday’s judgment, which limit to interim measures and do not decide the merits of our appeal,” he added.
The day the Indian government filed a complaint with the country’s Supreme Court seeking to suspend the Android operating system, Google announced it would cooperate with the authorities.
India’s Supreme Court also said that a lower court, where Google first challenged the Android directive, can continue to attend the company’s request and should rule before March 31. Google said on Friday that it would pursue the appeal “in parallel”.
Google has warned the Supreme Court that the development of its Android ecosystem will come to a standstill, hoping to stall the implementation of the CCI directions. If the directive goes into effect, they claimed they would be compelling to renegotiate contracts with more than 1,100 device manufacturers and thousands of software developers.
Google’s filing to the Supreme Court of India also states that “no other jurisdiction has called for such far-reaching changes.”
On January 21, the Supreme Court of India ruled against the country’s Restrictive Trade Practices Act and allowed Google to offer its Android operating system for free, widely seen as a victory for the company. The ruling also affects Microsoft’s Windows operating system, which bans in India.
Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint Research, said the “India directive” will set a precedent for how compelled Google is to open up the Android platform to third-party local app stores, apps and services.
“It will be a challenge,” he said. “We’re talking about 600 million Android users here; this will be a significant shakeup, causing confusion and chaos.”
In Europe, Google fined the Commission for imposing illegal restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices. Google is still challenging a record $4.3 billion fine in that case.
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There, Google made changes, including allowing users of Android devices to choose their default search engine, and such device makers could license Google’s suite of mobile apps, each from the Google Search app or the Chrome browser.
Google told the Supreme Court that if smart-phone makers choose which apps to preload as per the ICC order, it would “prevent Google from obtaining pre-installations of its revenue-generating apps and result in Google entitling to royalties”. Will force.” License. ,
The company warned that this could make mobile phones more expensive due to increased input costs for manufacturers.
