According to reports, Google has claimed that India’s competition watchdog based its decision to fine the company on portions of an EU ruling. According to the report, the tech giant stated this in a submission to an Indian appeals tribunal.
Google was fined 157 million dollars by an Indian regulator in October 2022 for using its Android platform to dominate the market. Google was accused by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for securing app dominance through agreements with smartphone manufacturers.
Google claimed in its filing with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that the CCI’s investigations unit utilized European evidence that was not examined in India. Additionally, Google claimed that more than fifty instances were copied from the European Commission’s decision.
The CCI stated that Google was abusing the licensing of its Android operating system for a variety of smartphones, web searches, browsing, and video hosting services when it announced the fine on October 20, 2022.
It stated that Google was forcing agreements with players in the industry to guarantee the utilization of its assortment of apps, including Google Chrome, YouTube, Google Maps, and others. According to the CCI, Google had continuous access to consumer data and lucrative advertising opportunities, which was stifling competition.
Authorities in India are also looking into Google’s behaviour in the smart TV market and its in-app payment system. In addition, Google is the subject of a number of antitrust cases. In 2019, the Android-related investigation was initiated in response to complaints from Android smartphone users.
The situation is comparable to one that Google faced in Europe in 2018, when regulators slapped the company with a record fine for utilizing the Android platform to consolidate its position as the dominant search engine. Google lost a court appeal against the order in September of last year.
