Google appeals to the Supreme Court to quash Android antitrust directives

The company is being scrutinised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for abusing its dominant position in the country's android market.

Tech giant Google has reportedly appealed to India's apex court, the Supreme Court, to quash antitrust directives against for abusing its dominant position in the mobile operating system.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) started investigating Google's android business in 2019 after receiving complaints. The probe found out that the company had abused its dominant position in the android market to hurt its competitors illegally.

In October, CCI found out that the company was reducing manufacturing firms’ ability and incentive to build and sell devices running Google alternative android systems.

The body also found that the company required it to be mandatory for device manufacturers to pre-install Google apps on the devices. This is in violation to India’s competition law.

CCI then ordered Google to remove the aforementioned restrictions imposed on device makers. Further, it fined the U.S. firm $163 million. Google paid the fine. It also gave 10 antitrust directives for Google to follow.

In March 2023, the company then appealed to the Supreme Court to put on hold the CCI directives. It argued that the directives risk stalling growth in the android ecosystem. The court set aside four of the ten directives. This move was appealed by the CCI, who seeked reversal of the tribunal's decision to give Google partial relief.

The company is now appealing the apex court to quash the remainder of the six CCI directives. In a statement, the company confirmed the Supreme Court filing.