The antitrust lawsuit brought against Google by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) last year will finally force the tech giant to change its software licensing agreements with OEMs in India. According to a leaked report, device makers can still release Android devices (phones, tablets, etc.) in India under the global MADA (Mobile Application Distribution Agreement) license or opt for the new “IMADA” license. The latter is said to be the new India-tailored arrangement, where OEMs (like Samsung, Motorola, etc.) can opt out of pre-installing the otherwise mandatory 11 Google apps that come with every new Android phone.
It’s also no longer mandatory to have things like the search bar, folders with Google apps, etc. on the home screen under IMADA. Users can also choose their default search engine when setting up the phone. Finally, under a section called “Indian Placement Agreement” in IMADA, Google reportedly sets a “per app premium” if an OEM decides to include one of its apps and display that icon on the home screen.
However, if they choose to use IMADA, they can only release the specific device variant in India. If they choose MADA instead, they can release the exact same device (with identical software) to most people in the world. pic.twitter.com/BNIF6lJeXQ
— Kuba Wojciechowski 🌺 (@Za_Raczke) February 18, 2023
Tipster Kuba Wojciechowski (@Za_Raczke) laid out the important details in a recent issue tweetand claimed to have access to the document in question. Under the new IMADA license, smartphone OEMs should now be quite flexible which ones Google Apps included, but the catch is that devices under IMADA can only be sold in India. The app that needs to be bundled would be the Load gamebut everything else like Search, Chrome, Drive, gmailMeet, cardsYouTube Music, Google Photos, Google Play Movies and TV and youtube will be optional according to the report. Wojciechowski points out that OEMs still need to include certain “core services” that are essential for Google APIs to work.
Last month Google released one to blog Post outlining some of the changes that would be coming to Android devices this year as a direct result of the antitrust lawsuit. In October 2022 the IHK ordered one detailed probe against Google for allegedly unfair revenue-sharing terms related to news content and a slap in the same month Rs. 1,330 crore penalty against Google for abusing its dominant position in several markets in the Android mobile ecosystem.
Attempt by Google block The verdict did not work, as it even claimed that the Chamber of Industry and Commerce did ‘copy paste’ of the EU antitrust regulation due to similar formulations. Earlier this month the Supreme Court of India fire Google’s plea to change the final order that was passed.
