Google challenges Android’s antitrust ruling in India’s Supreme Court

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NEW DELHI, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Google has filed a lawsuit in India’s Supreme Court to block an antitrust ruling in the country that will force the US company to change the way it markets its Android platform.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) in October fined unit Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) $161 million for exploiting its market dominance of Android, which powers 97 percent of India’s smartphones and is a key growth region for the giant US.

The challenge comes after Google suffered a setback on Wednesday when an appeals court rejected its request to block the antitrust ruling. The company argued that implementing the ICC directives will harm its long-standing business model and consumer interests.

Supreme Court records show that Google appealed the court ruling on Saturday. The date of the hearing is yet to be set.

Reuters was the first to report on Google’s planned strategy on Thursday.

Sources earlier this week told Reuters that Google is considering a legal challenge as its last hope of blocking the ruling from the ICC, whose directives forcing the company to change its business model take effect Jan. 19.

Google’s Supreme Court filing seeks to stay the ICC’s decision while its appeal is heard, a person familiar with the matter said Saturday.

Google is concerned about India’s decision as the remedies ordered are seen as more radical than the European Commission’s landmark 2018 ruling for imposing illegal restrictions on Android mobile device makers. Google contested the record $4.3 billion fine in that case.

A Google spokesperson did not immediately respond.

The ICC ruled in October that Google’s license for its Play Store “must not be linked to an obligation to pre-install” Google’s search services, Chrome browser, YouTube or any other Google application.

Reporting of Aditya Kalra, Arpan Chaturvedi and Aditi Shah in New Delhi; Edited by Mike Harrison

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