An Indian court upholds a $160 million fine on Google

An appeals court in India has upheld a $160 million fine levied on Google by the nation’s antitrust authority in a case involving Android’s monopoly on the market.

The “Competition Commission of India’s (CCI)” conclusions were accurate, and Google was required to pay the fine, according to the “National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).”

However, it overturned four of the ten antitrust orders placed on the company.

Android is installed on over 95% of devices in India. The CCI fined Google for engaging in “unfair” business tactics in October after accusing the company of abusing its dominant market position.

A number of modifications to the Android environment were also requested from Google. This included giving users the option to change their preferred search engine and not requiring manufacturers to pre-install the full suite of Google apps.

Following complaints from users of Android devices, the investigation into Android was launched in 2019. In a similar situation, Google was fined $5 billion by European regulators for using its Android operating system to obtain an unfair competitive advantage.

In India’s Supreme Court, Google contested the penalty and the instructions, arguing that “no other jurisdiction has ever requested such extensive adjustments.”

According to the argument, the company would be forced, as a result of the changes, to modify agreements with more than 1,100 device makers and thousands of app developers. However, the highest court declined to overturn the CCI orders and said a lower court could continue hearing the case.

Google revealed a number of modifications to its Android operating system in India in January, along with its agreement to work with the watchdog.

The tech behemoth can now prevent users from removing its pre-installed apps from their phones thanks to the NCLAT’s decision, though. Additionally, Google is free to continue putting restrictions on users who download applications outside of its Play Store and to ban third-party app stores altogether.