Google appeals against India’s fine over ‘unfair’ business practices on Android

Google said on Friday it has appealed against the Indian antitrust body’s order against the firm over alleged anti-competitive practices surrounding Android mobile devices in the key overseas market.

The company has approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), the nation’s appellate tribunal, to appeal against the Competition Commission of India’s October order, in which the watchdog fined Google $162 million.

“We have decided to appeal the CCI’s decision on Android as we believe it presents a major setback for our Indian users and businesses who trust Android’s security features, and potentially raising the cost of mobile devices,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

“We look forward to making our case in NCLAT and remain committed to users and partners.”

In October, the CCI, which began investigating Google three and a half years ago, said that it finds Google requiring device manufacturers to pre-install its entire Google Mobile Suite and mandating prominent placement of those apps “imposition of unfair condition on the device manufacturers” and thus was in “contravention of the provisions of Section 4(2)(a)(i) of the Act.”

Days later, the CCI hit Google with another $113 million fine for allegedly abusing the dominant position of its Google Play Store and ordered the firm to allow app developers to use third-party payments processing services for in-app purchases or for purchasing apps.

India is a key overseas market for Google, which has amassed over 500 million users in the South Asian market. The company, which has poured billions in its India business over the past decade, has pledged to invest another $10 billion in the country over the next couple of years.

Google appeals against India’s fine over ‘unfair’ business practices on Android by Manish Singh originally published on TechCrunch