Indian internet companies have expressed optimism about finding free space for their apps on Android devices as Google failed to find relief in an NCLAT and CCI ruling against the internet giant in the Supreme Court.
In a setback too Googlethe Supreme Court approved the order of the National Court of Appeal for Company Lawl (NCLAT) declined to seek a temporary stay in imposing a Rs. 1,337 crore fine on the US tech giant by the Competition Authority for allegedly abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile ecosystem.
The Supreme Court said at the interim stage that it would suffice to say that the findings of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) v. Google were neither incompetent nor suffered from an apparent error justifying their interference.
A bank headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud gave the US firm a week to recover 10 per cent of the Rs. 1,337 crore fine imposed on it by the CCI.
Own navigation company MapMyIndiawhich has also filed a motion for involvement in the case in the Apex Court, said the court debated how Google barred competitors such as MapmyIndia for their anti-competitive practices, thereby hampering Indian consumer choice and harming the Indian economy and competitors like MapmyIndia.
“When the Supreme Court finally rejected Google’s disingenuous arguments. Today marks a very crucial step towards India to break free from the digital slavery that Google has perpetuated against Indians for the last 15 years and it is the right moment for all Indians – consumers, media, app developers , OEMs, industry and government – to come together to create our own indigenous Aatmanirbhar ecosystem,” said Rohan Verma, CEO and executive director of MapMyIndia, in a statement.
On October 20 last year, the IHK asked Google to allow smartphone users on the Android platform to uninstall apps and let them select a search engine of their choice.
This order was to come into effect on January 19.
On October 20 last year, the IHK ordered, in addition to a heavy fine against Google, that the Internet major should refrain from and refrain from various unfair business practices.
The regulator, which issued the order after conducting a detailed investigation more than three years ago, has also asked Google to change its behavior by a set deadline.
The CCI, which began investigating the case in April 2019, has ruled that original equipment manufacturers should not be restricted from choosing from Google’s proprietary applications to be preinstalled, nor should they be forced to use a variety of applications to be pre-installed on their Smart Devices.
Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, Competition Law Practice, Partner, Naval Chopra said the SC decision is a landmark decision in the history of competition law practice in India and around the world.
“CCI’s reasoning has been taken into account by the Supreme Court, which ruled that there is no reason to interfere with the CCI regulation during the transition phase. The CCI’s sweeping legal remedies go beyond Europe and will force Google to change the way it does business. It will open up markets for Google’s competitors, which have long been marginalized by the tech giant’s vise-like grip on the Android ecosystem,” he said.
Rakesh Deshmukh, Co-Founder and CEO of Indus OS said the SC decision will usher in a catastrophic change in India’s smartphone ecosystem and will continue to improve and enhance digital penetration in our country.
“We are delighted that millions of Indian users now have the opportunity to experience our App Store without restrictions. Indus OS has been working on its app store tailored to the preferences of Indian consumers for over a decade,” said Deshmukh.
