Google appears to be ready to abide by an Indian court's antitrust verdict that it was exploiting its dominant position on Android, and will allow OEMs to license individual apps for pre-installation on devices and let users select their own default search engine.

The move is a response to [1]losing its appeal against a judgement that Google engaged in anticompetitive behavior. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) found Google guilty last year of abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile device ecosystem and its operation of the Play Store. Google was ordered to pay $161 million.

Google had [2]claimed in its appeal of the fine that the CCI had copy-and-pasted its ruling from an EU ruling and thus "failed to conduct an impartial, balanced, and legally sound investigation."

[3]

But now [4]Google seems at least partially resigned to the verdict.

[5]Google accuses Indian antitrust watchdog of plagiarizing EU ruling

[6]India's Supreme Court finds Google's appeal against monopoly fines unappealing

[7]Google institutional investor calls for wider cuts: 30k jobs

[8]Break up Google now, says US govt in ad monopoly lawsuit

"We take our commitment to comply with local laws and regulations in India seriously. The CCI's recent directives for Android and Play require us to make significant changes for India, and today we've informed the CCI of how we will be complying with their directives."

The company added that it would continue to appeal "certain aspects of the CCI's decision."

[9]

In addition to allowing OEMs to license individual apps for pre-installation and letting users select their default search engine at setup, Google said it is updating Android compatibility requirements so partners could build non-compatible or "forked" variants. Starting next month, developers will also be able to choose their billing option for all games and apps.

The Chocolate Factory said although it was making changes as required by the commission's directives, it would take "significant work" not just from Google, but its partners, developers, and OEMs too. ®

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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/23/google_india_monopoly_case/

[2] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/04/india_google_copypaste/

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y9KxrKQC0yvVZY61gjT86wAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[4] https://blog.google/intl/en-in/updates-to-android-and-google-play-in-india/

[5] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/04/india_google_copypaste/

[6] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/23/google_india_monopoly_case/

[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/25/google_investor_more_cuts/

[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/24/doj_google_ad_monopoly_antitrust/

[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y9KxrKQC0yvVZY61gjT86wAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/