Google has filed a petition with India’s Supreme Court to challenge the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) October order that required the tech giant to make 10 changes to its business model. Google claims that the CCI’s order was driven by a desire to protect rival Amazon, which had complained about difficulties in developing a modified version of the Android system due to Google’s restrictions. The CCI found that Google had abused its dominant position in the market with its Android operating system, which powers 97% of India’s smartphones.
Google’s Supreme Court filing reveals its growing disagreement with the CCI’s handling of the Android investigation. The company had previously accused the CCI of copying parts of a European ruling against Google in a similar case. In its October order, the CCI had asked Google to allow the distribution of modified versions of Android, known as Android forks, without licensing restrictions related to pre-installing Google apps. Amazon had informed the CCI that Google’s restrictions hindered the development of its Android fork called Fire OS, a claim that Google argues was unfairly relied upon by the watchdog.
The CCI’s directive, according to Google, was aimed at protecting Amazon and was based on the latter’s complaint that its attempts to create a forked version of Android were impeded by Google’s restrictions. Google contends that Fire OS had failed commercially globally and was not even launched in India. The CCI’s order fined Google $163 million and required it to make significant changes to its business practices in India. Google is challenging the penalty in the Supreme Court and asserting that it did not abuse its market position, while the CCI is seeking compliance with its directives.
