“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. 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,” Google said in a blog post.
Google-CCI case: What is the issue
Last year, CCI imposed a fine of Rs 2,273 crore on Google in two different orders: Rs 1,337 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile device ecosystem and Rs 936 crores for abusing its monopoly through Play Store.
Google then moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) seeking a stay on the order, however, the tribunal asked Google India to deposit 10% of the Rs 1,337 crore penalty and refused to stay the penalty imposed by the antitrust regulator. Google then moved the Supreme Court against the order.
What is at risk
Google says that India has 700 million Android users and the remedies ordered on Android strike blows to areas such as “online safety, affordability and expanded use cases for the next wave of users.” As per the technology giant, the many different and unique versions of Android, so-called ‘forks’, harm the consistent and predictable Android ecosystem.
“Devices built on incompatible ‘forks’ would prevent Google from securing those devices, as these versions will not support the security and user safety features that Google provides. Lack of robust and consistent security upgrades will leave the users of those devices exposed to cybercrime, bugs, and malware – which is most troubling for the millions of new internet users who are especially vulnerable,” Google explained.
It took into account the predatory apps that expose users to financial fraud, data theft and a number of other online dangers both from India and other countries. The company says that it cannot provide security to Android users if apps are downloaded from app stores other than Google Play store.
“Unchecked proliferation of such apps on less secure devices can expose vast swathes of Indian users to risk of their data being exposed and pose threats for individual and national security,” Google notes.
CCI order to make smartphones expensive
Google says a hit on the Android ecosystem in India will also increase the prices of smartphones because OEMs will have to invest their resources to provide security and functionality on their smartphones. The cost of those resources will be trickled down to customers.
“Since incompatible Android forks will not support the security and user safety features that Google provides, security responsibilities for these devices will instead fall to the OEMs, who will need to invest extensively in creating consistent, all-year-round security upgrades themselves. This will result in higher costs for the OEMs, and consequently, more expensive devices for Indian consumers” it said.
Google says that Android ‘forks’ will also increase the cost for app developers because they will have to prioritise for which ‘fork’ they need to write and maintain apps for.
“As a result of Android’s compatibility program, when developers write apps for Android, the apps can immediately access Android’s vast base of users. This allows even small developers to compete with large developers across the whole Android ecosystem, based on the merit and superiority of the product” the company explained.
“They will no longer have the level playing field they have today with Android, and larger developers, who can support a wider range of incompatible forks, will be able to dominate the market based on their scale, rather than the quality of their product” Google said.
How Android enables more choice for smartphone users
While touching upon the second Android-related case wherein it was fined Rs 936 crores for forcing OEMs to pre-install Google-owned apps and place them prominently, Google said that Android leaves OEMs free to pre-install any other app and app stores and they all already do.
“Users are free to install apps from sources beyond app stores (‘sideload’) – in such cases, Android displays alerts to ensure users act with awareness for their own safety,” it said.
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