Google on Wednesday announced four out of 10 directives in India, a key foreign market, including the need to allow hosting of third-party app stores within the Play Store and restrict users from uninstalling pre-installed apps. received some relief after the court reversed the , an antitrust lawsuit related to the abuse of the company’s dominant position in Android.
The National Corporate Law Court of Appeals has upheld the $161 million fine imposed on Google by India’s local oversight body, the Competition Commission, saying the previous ruling “does not violate the principle of natural justice.” However, it did offer some relief to Android makers.
India is Google’s largest market for users. The Android operating system powers 97% of his 600 million smartphones in the country, according to research firm Counterpoint. The Watchdog ruling directed Google to make several changes to its business practices that many analysts said could overthrow the company’s global operations.
In 2020, Google pledged to invest $10 billion in the South Asian market over the next few years. The company has already funded local telecom giants He Jio Platforms and Airtel with up to $5.5 billion.
The CCI also mandated that Google not deny access to the Play Services API to OEMs, developers, and competitors, nor limit the ability of app developers to distribute their apps through sideloading. rice field. These two directions have also been ruled out by the NCLAT, which states that these four directions are “unsustainable.”
Google argued that the CCI order had “confirmation bias” and mirrored the 2018 European Commission ruling. Google also argued that its dominance in the smartphone market did not prove that it was abusing its power.
The CCI had told Google not to force smartphone makers to bundle so many Google apps with their devices by default. They also wanted users to be able to remove the Google app, use third-party billing options in the Play Store, and change search engines if they so desired.
Having appealed the order, Google nevertheless agreed to make some changes to its business practices. The company said it will allow Indian smartphone vendors to license individual apps to pre-install on Android-powered devices. Consumers will also be able to change search engines and use third-party billing options for app and game purchases on the Play Store, the company said.
