Google has said that the directions in the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) order will lead to disruptions and could stall the growth of Android in India. Google in its statement said that the foundational disruptions owing to the order could potentially undo the deep investments and efforts made by OEMs, developers and the industry as a whole. The company said that India is at a juncture where companies like itself should come together to bring down barriers to access and build safe and secure smartphones that are available for all and is supported by the thriving digital ecosystem. “Google has partnered deeply with India in the last several years of its exciting digital transformation. However, at a time when only half of India’s population is connected, the directions in the CCI’s order strikes a blow at the ecosystem-wide efforts to accelerate digital adoption in the country,” read the blog post by the tech giant. Google is appealing against these directions before the Supreme Court. It said it was critical for its users and stakeholders to understand the gravity of the matter. In its blog, Google went on to list how Android was integral to the growth story of the Indian mobile segment. “In 2008, when Android launched, access to smart, internet-enabled devices was a huge challenge due to prohibitive costs. Over the last 15 years, through Android’s free open source software and suite of high quality apps, Google has helped device manufacturers make smartphones more affordable by a vast margin. Today, any user can get their hands on a fully functional smartphone at less than Rs. 6000 from numerous brands,” read the post. The company said that India has been witnessing a massive acceleration in terms of number of people going online via smartphones. According to Google, safety, affordability and expanded use cases for the next wave will be key to digital adoption. However, the company feels that the ordered remedies on Android will shake these key facets. On January 11, the Supreme Court had agreed to hear Google’s plea for a stay on another Rs 1,337 cr penalty order by CCI after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) refused to stay. However on the same day, NCLAT also rejected the tech giant’s plea seeking stay on CCI’s second order. In October last year, the regulator found Google guilty of abusing its dominance in the Android smartphone market. The statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ordered Google to allow its users to uninstall mandatory apps such as YouTube, Google Maps that are preinstalled on Android devices. The body had also slammed Google over its Play Store policies. it slapped a fine of Rs 936 cr on Google and ordered it to ‘cease and desist’ from anti-competitive practices.
