Earlier this month, Google submitted a filing to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) claiming that the lawsuit against the company is detrimental to the smartphone industry in India. As part of the lawsuit, the CCI fined Google $161.95 million for threatening rival businesses over its liability for pre-release applications to smartphone makers. Today, the company shared a blog post explaining the rationale for defending its case.
Google mentions that CCI “A blow to ecosystem-wide efforts to accelerate digital adoption” in India. It added that Android’s use of open-source software has led manufacturers to create more affordable smartphones for consumers. He argues that Google’s efforts helped encourage manufacturers as the number of smartphone users increased.
Google also highlighted that Android powers a large part of India. Jindhan – Aadhaar – Mobile TrinityHelped to provide electronic devices during covid, and helped to generate employment in the economy. Thus, arguing that CCI puts them all at risk.
It argued that different versions of Android would prevent a “stable and predictable ecosystem” and added that devices incompatible with these versions would prevent Google from providing security features to its users. . This will make them vulnerable to cybercrime, malware and bugs. Additionally, the country will see smartphone prices rise as OEMs will have to finance constant security updates on consumer devices as Google’s security features will not be available. Additionally, Google argued that app developers would face higher costs that would result in more user churn. It mentioned:
“In a forked Android environment, small developers will be forced to prioritize which apps they write and maintain among various incompatible Android ‘forks,’ as their costs increase with each additional version. will increase.”
The company concluded by saying that there is a need to come together to provide safe and secure smartphones to consumers in India. It said “fundamental disruptions” could negatively impact efforts by OEMs, developers and the industry.
