India’s top antitrust authority has found that Google has abused the dominant position of its Android operating system in the country and used its “huge financial muscle” to illegally harm competitors.
Google has “reduced “the ability and incentive of device manufacturers to develop and sell devices operating on alternative versions of Android,” according to a June report by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).
In a statement, Google said it was looking forward to working with the CCI to “demonstrate how Android has led to more competition and innovation, not less.”
The technology giant could challenge any order in Indian courts.
This is the latest antitrust setback for Google in India, where it has a number of probes in the payment apps and smart TV markets.
India is one of Google’s most important growth markets. Last year, the technology giant announced it would spend $10 billion over five to seven years in the country through equity investments and tie-ups, its largest investment ever made in a major growth market.
For more information, view the original story from Reuters.