India’s watchdog probes accusations Google abused Android, say sources
India's competition regulator investigates whether the group misuses the mobile-operating system to block rivals
New Delhi — India’s antitrust commission is looking into accusations that Alphabet’s unit Google abuses its popular Android mobile operating system to block its rivals, say four informed sources. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has for the past six months been reviewing a case similar to one Google faced in Europe that led to a €4.34bn fine levied by antitrust regulators last year, three of the sources said. Google has challenged that order. The European Commission found Google abused its market dominance since 2011 with practices such as forcing manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and its Chrome browser, together with its Google Play app store on Android devices.
“It is on the lines of the EU case, but at a preliminary stage,” said one of the sources. Google refused to comment. The commission did not respond to queries. The watchdog’s inquiry into allegations against Google over its Android platform has not previously been reported. Google executives met Indi...
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