- Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google has told a tribunal in India that the country’s antitrust investigators duplicated parts of a European ruling against the U.S. firm for abusing the market supremacy of its Android operating system.
- Google urged the court to quash the decision, Reuters reports.
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) penalized Google by $161 million in October for exploiting its predominant position in online search and the Android app store.
- The CCI urged Google to change restrictions on smartphone makers related to pre-installing apps.
- Also Read: India’s Revised Data Privacy Bill Appears As Relief For Big Techs, But Also Comes With Harsher Penalty
- Google was worried about the Indian decision as the remedies ordered were seen as more exhaustive than the European Commission’s landmark 2018 ruling.
- Google argued the CCI’s investigation unit “copy-pasted extensively from a European Commission decision, deploying evidence from Europe that was not examined in India.”
- “There are more than 50 instances of copypasting”, in some cases “word-for-word,” and the watchdog erroneously dismissed the issue, Google said.
- Google found the CCI’s decision a major setback for its Indian users and businesses.
- Google alleged the CCI only found antitrust infringements related to the Google search app, Chrome browser, and YouTube, but its order “extends beyond” that.
- Separately, Google has also appealed against another Indian antitrust decision where it was fined $113 million for restricting third-party billing or payment processing services in India.
- Price Action: GOOG shares traded higher by 0.52% at $89.20 on the last check Tuesday.
Bitcoin Surpasses This Key Level; Trust Wallet Token Emerges As Top Gainer
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) traded higher, with the cryptocurrency prices topping the key $25,000 level on Friday.
Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) also moved higher, trading above the key $1,600 mark this morning.
