Google wants India’s top court to overturn Android antitrust directives. Two sources said Google (GOOGL.O) had asked India’s Supreme Court to overturn antitrust directives against it for abusing the Android market.
In October, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found that Google had abused its dominant position by powering 97% of India’s 600 million cell phones with Android.
It ordered Google to remove limitations on device makers, including app pre-installation and fined the U.S. business $163 million, which it paid.
In March, an Indian panel overturned four of the ten instructions in the case, providing partial relief to Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O).
The tribunal upheld CCI’s anti-competitive findings but quashed several directions that pushed Google to change its business strategy.
The first source with firsthand information stated Google is requesting the Supreme Court to overturn the remaining instructions.
According to the source, Google’s Monday petition claims it has not exploited its market position and, therefore, not be penalized.
Google confirmed the Supreme Court submission, adding it looked forward to presenting its case and showing how Android helped consumers and developers.
Google explained its current challenge by saying the Indian tribunal had determined authorities must prove harm caused by anti-competitive behavior “but did not apply this requirement” to several CCI’s Android directives.
Google’s Supreme Court challenge was unreported.
According to a third source, the CCI has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn Google’s partial remedy. CCI did not comment.
Google was concerned about India’s Android decision since it was more sweeping than the European Commission’s 2018 ruling against the operating system.
Following the mandate, Google allowed device makers in India to license individual apps for pre-installation.
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