Indian startup founders have expressed optimism on the the Supreme Court of India’s order refusing to stay the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) fine of Rs. 1337 crore ($180 million) on Google. The statement shared by MapmyIndia CEO and Executive Director Rohan Verma on LinkedIn stated that it marks one very critical step towards India breaking free from the digital slavery Google has perpetuated on Indians for the last 15 years.

In a major setback for Google, the Supreme Court on Thursday also asked the company to deposit 10 percent of the amount, or Rs. 133.7 crore ($18 million), within a week. The fine was levied by the CCI for Google's alleged anti-competitive Android policies.

The SC has also asked the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to decide on Google's appeal against the CCI's order by March 31. The SC observed that it "cannot lose sight of the peculiarities, depth and penetration of the Indian market" in this case.

MapmyIndia in it’s statement further added that MapmyIndia said in its statement, “Tt is the right moment for all Indians - consumers, media, app developers, OEMs, industry, and government- to come together to create our own far better indigenous Aatmanirbhar ecosystem that gives India its rightful place at the forefront of the world, independent of monopolistic Google.”

The CCI on October 20 last year Alphabet Inc-owned Google $161 million for exploiting its dominant position in Android, which powers 97 percent of smartphones in India, and asked it to change restrictions imposed on smartphone makers related to pre-installing apps.

Also read: SC refuses to stay CCI fine on Google, asks co to deposit 10% of the amount

Google had challenged the directive saying it would hurt consumers and also its business, warning the growth of the Android ecosystem will stall if the far-reaching measures were to be implemented.

Calling the apex court order a way of opening doors for innovation and competition Indus OS Co-founder & CEO Rakesh Deshmukh said on LinkedIn that “ I am sure India will have its mapping app, appstore, and a browser with more than a 500M user base soon,”

Meanwhile Google has issued a statement that it will continue to work in parallel on challenge against android antitrust order

“We are reviewing details of India SC android antitrust order and we remain committed to users, partners in india after the antitrust trust order by SC and will cooperate with india antitrust body after android decision,” Google said in a statement as reported by Reuters.

Also Read: Microsoft to invest Rs 16,000 crore to set up 3 more data centres in Hyderabad

Earlier Google was penalised in Europe for imposing what the Commission deemed to be illegal limitations on manufacturers of Android mobile devices. Google is currently contesting the case's record $4.3 billion fine.

In addition to allowing Android device users to choose their default search engine, Google also announced that device manufacturers will be able to licence the Google mobile application suite independently of the Google Search App or the Chrome browser.

Also Read: Samsung eyes 75% smartphone biz from 5G phones; advances Galaxy A series launch

First Published:Jan 19, 2023 9:36 PM IST