Google set to challenge India Android antitrust ruling at Supreme Court - Reuters

NEW DELHI, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Google is preparing to attack India's Supreme Court wrong days to effort to artifact a ruling by the country's antitrust watchdog that volition unit the U.S. institution to alteration however it markets its Android platform, 2 radical acquainted with its strategy told Reuters.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) successful October fined the Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) portion $161 cardinal for exploiting its ascendant presumption successful the marketplace for Android which powers 97% of smartphones successful India, a cardinal maturation portion for the U.S. giant.

Google, however, has been worried astir the Indian determination arsenic the remedies ordered are seen arsenic much sweeping than the European Commission's landmark 2018 ruling for imposing unlawful restrictions connected Android mobile instrumentality makers. Google has challenged the grounds $4.3 cardinal good successful that case.

In India, Google is present gearing up to record a ineligible situation astatine the Supreme Court wrong days arsenic the antitrust watchdog's Jan. 19 deadline to instrumentality changes to its exemplary looms, the archetypal root with nonstop cognition said.

A spokesperson for Google did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

The Supreme Court attack volition travel aft Google suffered a setback connected Wednesday erstwhile a tribunal turned down its petition to artifact the antitrust ruling. The institution argued implementation of CCI's directives volition wounded its long-standing concern exemplary and user interests.

Google believes immoderate of CCI's directives cannot beryllium implemented, and the institution "has nary different option" than approaching the Supreme Court for relief, the root added.

Google licenses its Android strategy to smartphone makers, but critics accidental it imposes restrictions similar mandatory pre-installation of its ain apps that are anti-competitive. The institution argues specified agreements assistance support the operating strategy free.

The CCI ruled successful October that Google's licensing of its Play Store "shall not beryllium linked with the request of pre-installing" Google hunt services, the Chrome browser, YouTube oregon immoderate different Google applications.

Separately, Google has alleged successful its filings the CCI's probe portion copied parts of a European 2018 ruling against the U.S. firm, Reuters has reported. The CCI and the European Commission person not responded to those allegations.

Reporting by Aditi Shah and Aditya Kalra successful New Delhi;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle

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