The Chrome browser is not the default browser under Google’s Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA) with phone makers and does not exclude other browsers, the tech giant said on Thursday before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
Appearing for Google, senior counsel Arun Kathpalia said the finding of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) that Google has leveraged its dominant position in the app store market for Android operating system to enter and protect its position in the browser market is completely flawed. “Pre-installation of browser (Chrome) under MADA does not stop pre-installation of any other browser. MADA is non-exclusive,” Kathpalia said.
The NCLAT bench comprising chairperson Ashok Bhushan and member (technical) Alok Srivastava resumed hearing Google’s appeal against the CCI’s order on Thursday. The CCI, in its order dated October 20, 2022, had imposed a Rs 1,337 crore monetary penalty on Google for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets in the Android mobile device ecosystem and had issued a cease-and-desist order against Google from indulging in anti-competitive practices.
Kathpalia further contended that CCI arrived at its findings without ever posing the question to users of the Android operating system. He also said there is no revenue share attached to pre-installation of the Chrome browser under MADA.
He also submitted that the browser can be disabled and then ceases to be on the mobile screen. “No user can use it once disabled,” he further said. On the Apple iPhone device, Safari was the default browser and till 2020 there was no option to change the default browser setting on the iPhone.
After hearing the matter for nearly two hours on Thursday, the Bench will resume hearing on Friday. Following the CCI order, Google had filed a plea with NCLAT, which had declined to give an interim stay. The tech giant then approached the Supreme Court, which had also declined to stay the CCI order but had directed the NCLAT to decide on Google’s appeal by March 31.
