Google said on Friday that India is at a turning point where the stakeholders must work together to lower access barriers and make safe and secure smartphones accessible to everyone, supported by a thriving digital ecosystem. This comes as the battle between Google and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has reached the Supreme Court.
Google : Stakeholders most come together to bring down barriers to investment
According to Google, foundational changes at this point might cause us to lose years and erase the significant investments and efforts made by developers, OEMs, and the industry at large.
Company said “It is a crucial moment for India – and our hope is that we, along with all the stakeholders of this vibrant ecosystem, can continue to build on top of this foundation,”
Supreme Court agrees to examine appeal by Google against decision made by National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court accepted to consider Google’s appeal of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) refusal to stay a Rs 1,337.76 crore fine the CCI had levied on it for suspected anti-competitive activities.
As per Google, the “directions in the CCI’s order” deal a blow to ecosystem-wide initiatives to speed up the adoption of digital technology in the nation.
Further, the company said in a blog post “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,”
In 2022, India’s annual app downloads hit a new high of 29 billion, making it the second-largest app market after China. This provided developers from India and other countries with a solid base to build successful Play businesses.
Also Read: Google: CCI’s antitrust order will slow expansion of its Android ecosystem in India
“India has seen a huge acceleration in the number of people coming online via smartphones. As we look beyond the estimated 700 million users who are already online, safety, affordability and expanded use cases for the next wave of users will be the pillars that will determine digital adoption”.
“Unfortunately, the ordered remedies on Android strike blows to these very areas,” said Google, Increased exposure to internet threats and privacy hazards, a lack of reliable and consistent security updates, shady apps that put users at risk of identity theft, financial fraud, and other perils all help Google.
Further Google explained “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,”
The OEMs would incur increased costs as a result, which will translate into more expensive gadgets for Indian consumers, it was further said.
Following a defeat at NCLAT, which did not stay the CCI order on abuse of dominant position in various markets in the Android mobile device ecosystem issue, Google filed a petition with the Supreme Court.
Also Read: TV channels driven by agenda: Supreme Court
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