Google claims the Competition Commission of India ‘copied’ an EU order: report

New Delhi (India) : According to Reuters, Google claims that India’s competition watchdog “copied” parts of an EU ruling in its order to fine the company.

According to the report, the tech giant stated this in a filing to an Indian appeals tribunal.

On Wednesday, the tribunal will hear Google’s appeal against the penalty.

The Indian regulator fined Google 13 billion rupees ($157 million; £131 million) in October for dominating the market with its Android platform.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) accused Google of entering into “one-sided agreements” with smartphone manufacturers in order to ensure its apps’ dominance.

India fines Google $161 million for unfair business practises.

According to Reuters, Google claimed that the CCI’s investigations unit used “evidence from Europe that was not examined in India” in a filing to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). It also claimed that “more than 50 instances of copy-pasting” from the European Commission’s ruling occurred.

Reuters stated that it had reviewed the non-public filing.

The CCI did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The BBC has also reached out to CCI representatives for comment.

The CCI stated in its announcement of the fine on October 20 that Google was “abusing” the licencing of its Android operating system for a variety of smartphones, web searches, browsing, and video hosting services.

It claimed that Google was entering into forced agreements with industry players to ensure that its suite of apps, including Google Chrome, YouTube, and Google Maps, were used. According to the CCI, this stifled competition and provided Google with continuous access to consumer data and lucrative advertising opportunities.

In India, Google is facing a slew of antitrust cases, and authorities are also looking into its behaviour in the smart TV market and its in-app payments system.

The Android-related investigation was launched in 2019 in response to consumer complaints about Android smartphones.

The situation is similar to that of Google in Europe, where regulators imposed a record fine on the company in 2018 for using the Android platform to cement its search engine’s dominance. Google lost its court appeal against the order in September of last year.

The CCI imposed another fine on Google for anti-competitive practises just days after the October 20 order. Google has also filed an appeal in this matter.