Google has filed an appeal at the Indian Supreme Court against antitrust directives on Android made by a Tribunal. The March ruling by the Tribunal gave partial relief to Google by setting aside four of the ten directives issued by the country’s competition watchdog, CCI. Google requests that the Indian Supreme Court should dismiss all the antitrust directives imposed on it by CCI. The directives relate to Google’s alleged misuse of the Android market.
Google is challenging the Indian competition regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) October 2022 directives. The CCI accused Google of exploiting its dominant position in the Indian smartphone market with the Android OS used in about 97% of smartphones in India. The competition watchdog ordered Google to remove all restrictions placed on OEMs particularly relating to pre-installed apps. Google has already paid the $163 million fine slapped on it by the CCI.
The Tribunal overturned four of the ten directives issued by CCI last March. The reliefs were sought by Google’s parent company Alphabet. The Tribunal however affirmed the accuracy of the CCI’s findings but it invalidated some of the directives.
Those directives required Google to modify its business model. Google is now seeking further relief from the Supreme Court to overturn the remaining six directives. It further argues that it has not abused the market position and should therefore not be subjected to any penalties.
On the flip side, the CCI has also approached the Supreme Court to overturn the decision of the Tribunal in its entirety. Google has already had a landmark ruling on the Android operating system made by the European Commission in 2018. The CCI directives are however seen to be broader in scope when compared with the previous ruling. The appeal however comes after Google implemented substantial reforms to Android in India, as a fallout of the CCI directives.
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