Overview

• The appeals challenge a March NCLAT ruling that upheld key CCI findings of Google’s abuse of dominance in Android device systems.
• In 2020, the CCI opened its probe after concluding that Google forced developers to use its Play Billing System while exempting its own apps like YouTube.
• The competition regulator initially fined Google ₹936.44 crore in 2022 before the NCLAT reduced the penalty to ₹216.69 crore earlier this year.
• In May, the NCLAT reinstated CCI directives requiring Google to disclose its billing data policies and bar the use of that data for competitive gain.
• Next month’s hearing marks the next judicial step in India’s broader effort to curb platform-level monopoly practices in the digital economy.