NEW DELHI (Reuters) January 4 – An Indian panel on Wednesday rejected Google’s bid to have an antitrust verdict forcing the tech giant to alter how it approaches its Android platform blocked, giving the American company a blow in a crucial growing area.
For abusing its dominant position in areas including online search and the Android app store, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google $161 million in October and demanded that it modify restrictions on smartphone manufacturers regarding pre-installed applications.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Google’s attorney, advocated for delaying the verdict or postponing the Jan. 19 deadline for the CCI’s directions throughout the hearing. According to him, the corporation will be forced to alter its business strategy, which would undermine the interests of customers.
The jury did not concur. The two-member tribunal panel said, “We are of the view that at this time considering the voluminous nature of the appeal, there is no need to make any interim decision.”
According to Reuters, Google informed the tribunal in a court document that CCI’s investigative team plagiarised portions of a European finding against the American company from a judgement on the abuse of market dominance of its Android operating system.
Google said that the CCI investigators “copied heavily from a European Commission judgement, utilising material from Europe that was not considered in India.”
To these accusations, the CCI has not yet given a response.