India tribunal rejects Google's request to block Android antitrust ruling

An Indian tribunal rejected a request from tech giants Google to overturn an earlier antitrust ruling that ordered the company to change its approach when it comes to the android market.

In October 2021, Google’s parent company – Alphabet Inc – was fined $161 million by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for misusing its dominant position in the Android app store. The ruling added that Google were putting extra pressure on smartphone makers related to pre-installing apps.

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It was a huge setback for Google who considered the pre-installed apps market on the Android platform as a major source of profit. With the tribunal ruling against the company, Google will be forced to agree to the previous ruling and that can be a major blow to its reach and revenues.

"We are of opinion that at the moment given the voluminous nature of the appeal, there is no need to pass any interim order," the two-member tribunal panel said according to Reuters.

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Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was representing Google in front of the tribunal, argued that the decision was taken without all evidences and asked the tribunal to put the decision on hold till at least January 19. He added that the earlier decision can end up causing damage to consumers.

Google also said that the CCI "copy-pasted extensively from a European Commission decision, deploying evidence from Europe that was not examined in India" but the tribunal once again rejected the request.