The Competitions Commission of India on Thursday denied allegations by Google that investigators had “copy-pasted” components of a European ruling in opposition to the US agency for abusing the market dominance of its Android platform.
“We have not cut, copy and paste,” N Venkataraman, a authorities lawyer representing the Competition Commission of India (CCI), advised the highest courtroom.
The feedback got here at a listening to in India’s Supreme Court, the place Google is looking for to dam the CCI ruling.
Google had argued in its authorized filings, seen by Reuters, that CCI’s investigation unit “copy-pasted extensively from a European Commission decision, deploying evidence from Europe that was not examined in India”.
“There are more than 50 instances of copypasting”, in some circumstances “word-for-word”, Google stated. The European Commission has not responded to a request for remark on the allegation.
The CCI has fined Alphabet Inc-owned Google $161 million (roughly Rs. 1300 crore) for exploiting its dominant place in Android, which powers 97 % of smartphones in India, and requested it to alter restrictions imposed on smartphone makers associated to pre-installing apps.
Google had challenged the directive saying it could damage shoppers and likewise its enterprise, warning the expansion of the Android ecosystem will stall if the far-reaching measures have been to be carried out.
During Thursday’s listening to, Google’s counsel repeatedly pressed judges to place CCI ruling on maintain, saying it’s pro-competition and doesn’t abuse its market place. The judges are but to succeed in a call.
© Thomson Reuters 2023