Google is suing the Competition Commission of India (CCI) after it leaked confidential antitrust reports against the American tech giant.
On the 18th of September, The Times of India and Reuters reported that a CCI investigation found Google guilty of abusing Android's dominance in India. To do this, Google used its "huge financial capabilities" and inflicted illegal damage on competitors. In response, the company expressed its intention to work closely with the agency to "demonstrate that Android has led to increased, rather than weakened, competition and innovation."
Google today said it has filed legal action against CCI to "prevent further illegal distribution of confidential information." The company expressed "protest against the abuse of trust, which reduces Google's ability to protect itself, harms the corporation and its partners." The statement said: - "We cooperated fully and maintained confidentiality throughout the investigation process and expect the same confidentiality from the agencies we work with".
The Competition Commission of India in 2019 ordered its dedicated division to investigate, saying that Google may have used its dominance to restrict device makers from choosing alternative versions of its mobile OS and force them to pre-install their apps.
A two-year investigation resulted in a 750-page report, according to which mandatory preinstallation of applications "is tantamount to imposing unfair conditions on device manufacturers", which is a violation of Indian competition law. In addition, the document says, the company used the Play Store to defend its dominance.
Source: Reuters website
