Will allow users in India to choose default search engine: Google

New Delhi, January 25

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After failing to get a court order to block an antitrust ruling, Google on Wednesday said it will allow users in India to choose default search engine on Android-based smartphones.

Last week, the Supreme Court refused a stay a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order slapping a Rs 1,337.76-crore fine on Google for exploiting its dominant position of its popular Android operating system, which powers 97% of around 60 crore smartphones in India. CCI imposed another Rs 936 crore penalty on the US tech giant in a case related to its Play Store policies.

“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,” Google said in a blog.

The changes include allowing original equipment manufacturers or smartphone makers the liberty to license individual Google apps for pre-installation on their devices. — PTI

Tweaking norms

The changes include allowing original equipment manufacturers or smartphone makers the liberty to license individual Google apps for pre-installation on their devices