John Paul M. Joaquin Tech 01.04.2023 06:Jan AM EST

Google’s Request To Block India’s Android Antitrust Ruling Gets Denied

Google isn't getting off the hook anytime soon.

The California-based search giant recently had its request of blocking an antitrust ruling in India denied by an Indian Tribunal following the country's decision to fine the company for anti-competitive practices.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) previously ruled against Google in October 2022 to the tune of a $161 million fine after years of investigation.

Google's Denied Antitrust Request Denial

A tribunal consisting of two-panel members of India's National Company Law Appellate Tribunal denied Google's request to block the ruling of the country's competition watchdog due to its "voluminous nature" as of the hearing's date.

According to a Reuters report, Google's counsel, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, pushed to put the CCI's ruling on hold or at least extend its implementation date beyond Jan. 19, as it will force Google to change its business model and harm consumer interest.

Google also told the Tribunal through a legal filing in January that the CCI's investigation unit copied parts of a European ruling against it from a similar verdict about its abuse of market dominance of its Android OS, per CNBC.

The company mentioned that the CCI's decision had more than 50 instances of copypasting, which was sometimes done word-for-word, per Tech Crunch.

The search giant also argued in its filing that the CCI's investigative unit deployed evidence from Europe that was not examined in India, and as such, the Commission failed to conduct an "impartial, balanced, and legally sound investigation" to determine whether Google had abused its dominance in certain markets.

The CCI has yet to address Google's allegations as of the writing of this article.

Google appealed the CCI's ruling in late December 2022, during the holiday season. Meanwhile, the Commission held its investigation to learn if Google abused its dominance in five different markets: licensable OS for smartphones, app store, web search services, non-OS specific mobile web browsers, and online video hosting platforms in India.

A Setback Of Major Proportions

A Google spokesperson previously said that Google decided to appeal the CCI's ruling to avoid a major setback for its Indian users and businesses who trust Android's security features.

The CCI's ruling could also raise the cost of Android mobile devices in India, making them less accessible in the process.

Indeed, the appeal's denial is a major setback for Google's business in the country, which is widely considered the second most populated country after China.

Google also amassed more than 500 million users in the country, which makes it a key overseas market the company is reluctant to lose. You may remember that Google previously pledged to invest an additional $10 billion between 2020 and 2027 to help accelerate the adoption of digital services in the country.

This claim is further evidenced by App Annie's report finding that the country is Google Play Store's top customer in terms of the number of app downloads, beating its home country and Brazil for the title.