Google has accuse India’s antitrust body of ordering changes to its business model “only to protect” rival Amazon, which complain about its struggles to develop a modified version of the Android system due to Google’s restrictions, legal papers show.
Google has approach India’s Supreme Court to quash the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) October order asking the company to make 10 changes to its business model after the CCI found it abuse its dominant position in the market with its Android operating system, which powers 97% of India’s smartphones.
Google’s latest Supreme Court filing shows its deepening disagreement with how the CCI conduct its Android investigation.
In an earlier December filing in a lower tribunal, Google said CCI officers had “copypasted” parts of a European ruling against the US firm in a similar case.
CCI denied the accusation.
In the CCI’s October order, which also fine Google $163 million (approx. Rs. 1,345 crore), the company was ask to allow modified versions of its Android operating system, call as Android forks, to be liberally distribute without any licensing restrictions such as those related to pre-installation of Google apps.
Amazon told the CCI during the investigation that Google’s restrictions hindered development of its Android fork called Fire OS, and Google said the watchdog unfairly relied on that in passing its adverse decision against it, the company said in the 26th June Supreme Court filing.
“Globally, FireOS fail commercially due to poor user experience. In India, the Fire Phone was not even launch,” Google argue in its 1,004-page filing, which has not made public.
“Thus, the Commission called Amazon’s lack of attempt to compete in India a failure and attributed it to Google’s agreements.”
The CCI’s directive was issue “only to protect Amazon – who complain that its attempts at creating a fork version of the Android did not work because of (Google’s) restrictions.“
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Google decline to comment, citing ongoing legal proceedings.
Amazon also decline to comment and the CCI did not respond to the Alphabet-own company’s court filing, which is set to be heard in the coming days.
In 2021, South Korea fined Google $159 million (approx. Rs. 1,312 crore) for blocking customise versions of Android.
Google has particularly concern about India’s Android decision as the directives were seen even more sweeping than those impose in the European Commission’s landmark 2018 ruling against the company’s Android market abuse.
Google has challenge both the South Korean and European orders.
In its October ruling, the CCI said its investigators found Google’s contractual restrictions had “reduce the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell” devices operating on Android forks, hurting consumer interests.
Amazon told Indian investigators the creation of Fire OS, as a fork Android, took “substantial resources“, including thousands of employee hours, court papers show.
Google is arguing in India’s Supreme Court against any penalty and saying it did not abuse its market position.
Google has made sweeping changes to its Android business model in India following CCI’s directive.
A lower tribunal rule that Google should pay the penalty and confirm it abuse its market position, in line with CCI’s findings, but the US company continues to fight it out in the Supreme Court.
