Google: Google’s four ‘small wins’ in the antitrust case against CCI in India – Times of India

All is not that bad for Google in the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ruling in the Competition Commission of India case. While the company has been asked to pay Rs 1000-plus fine, it does get some partial relief. The Indian tribunal has set aside four of the 10 antitrust directives in the case related to the dominant market position of Google’s Android operating system.
In October last year, the industry watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that Google had exploited its dominant position in the Android market and asked the company to remove restrictions imposed on device makers, including related to the pre-installation of apps. It also fined Google Rs 1,337.76 crore.
NCLAT while termed CCI’s findings of Google’s anti-competitive conduct as correct and that the company was also liable to pay the fine, it at the same time quashed four of the 10 antitrust remedies that had been imposed on Google to change its business model.
The four ‘small wins’
Among the reliefs, Google will now not be required to allow hosting of third-party app stores inside Play Store, as had been previously ordered by the CCI. The move will come as some relief for Google after the Supreme Court (SC) in January refused to suspend any of the antitrust remedies ordered against the company in 2022. The apex court had asked the tribunal to hear the case on merit and rule by March end.
Two, Google will not be needed to allow users to remove pre-installed apps such as Google Maps, Gmail and Youtube.

Three, Google can also continue imposing curbs on “sideloading”, the practice of downloading apps without using an app store. CCI had earlier asked Google to stop the same. Four, the CCI had ordered Google to not deny access to Play Services APIs to OEMs, developers and competitors, and not restrict an app developer’s ability to distribute their apps through side-loading. All these directions were set aside by the NCLAT, which said that these four directions were “unsustainable.”
Importance of India for Google
India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market. For Google, it is the largest market by users. The Android operating system runs on 97% of the country’s 600 million smartphones, according to research firm Counterpoint.
It is so far not clear if Google will again challenge the decision to revoke the other CCI remedies. “We are grateful for the opportunity given by the NCLAT to make our case. We are reviewing the order and evaluating our legal options,” Google spokesperson said of about the verdict in a statement.