CCI ruling may increase privacy risks; smartphone prices will spike: Google

The Competition Commission of India (CCI)’s ruling will increase smartphones prices, harm the internet, and risks to privacy and the cost for app developers will go up, said Google. Saying the ruling “strikes a blow”, Google insisted that efforts to accelerate digital adoption in the country will be affected.

“Google is appealing these directions before Indian courts. While there has been a lot of reporting and debate on the subject, it is critical that our users and stakeholders understand the full import of what lies at stake” the tech behemoth stated in a blog post.

Google had appealed the ruling and Supreme Court is set to hear the company’s appeal on January 16. Google is appealing the NCLAT order that refused to block CCI’s Android antitrust ruling.

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The tech giant was fined $161 million by CCI for exploiting its dominant position in the Android market. The Google made software is behind 97 percent of the smartphones in India. The CCI told Google it to change restrictions imposed on smartphone makers with relation to pre-installing apps.

The tech firm has maintained that CCI decision will force it to change its long-standing business model. A court filing by the company reported by Reuters, has determined the impact and details the changes the company will need to make to its model.

Google claims it will need to modify or renegotiate contracts, introduce new arrangements and alter existing contracts with more than 1,100 device manufacturers and thousands of app developers.

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Google is worried about the Indian CCI’s decision as the changes it has been ordered to make are more drastic than the European Commission’s landmark 2018 ruling for imposing unlawful restrictions on Android mobile device makers. The company was fined a record $4.3 billion and is challenging EC’s ruling.

Though the Android system is licensed to smartphone makers, experts opine that Google mandates pre-installation of its own apps, a move that is considered anti-competitive. Google argues that such deals help keep Android free.

The CCI in October last year, ruled that Google stop prohibiting un-installing of its apps by Indian Android phone users. Currently, users cannot delete applications like Google Maps or YouTube from their Android phones especially if they are pre-installed.

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The CCI also ruled that Google’s licensing of its Play Store “shall not be linked with the requirement of pre-installing” Google search services.

Rakesh Deshmukh, Co-founder and CEO of Indus OS, which competes with Google’s app marketplace, said, “In its plea filed with the top court in the country, the tech giant has stated that the ruling will stall the growth of the Android ecosystem in the country, and thus adversely impact all the stakeholders and also drive up the device price point.”

“The argument however is contradictory as competition breeds innovation which only makes technology more affordable for everyone. Google itself has pointed out that the prices of smartphone devices have dropped drastically over the last 5 years,” he told Moneycontrol.

Also read: Google to make text and voice search available in over 100 Indian languages