Google moves Delhi HC against CCI over leaked Android investigation report

Google has moved the Delhi High Court against India’s antitrust watchdog for allegedly leaking a report of their probe into the company to the media. The report had said that Google was abusing its dominant position of Android in India to hurt local competitors. 

In a statement on Thursday, the company said it has moved the court “specifically protesting against the breach of confidence which impairs Google’s ability to defend itself and harms Google and its partners”. 

“We are deeply concerned that the Director General’s Report, which contains our confidential information in an ongoing case, was leaked to the media while in the CCI’s custody,” a Google spokesperson said. 

The company also noted that it has not yet received or reviewed the report and further said that the findings of the Director General did not reflect the Competition Commission of India’s final decision and the submission of the report is an interim procedural step. 

“Google has not yet had the opportunity to review the DG’s findings, much less submit its defence of any allegations,” the company said in a statement.

According to the spokesperson, “protecting confidential information is fundamental to any governmental investigation, and we are pursuing our legal right to seek redress and prevent any further unlawful disclosures.”

“We cooperated fully and maintained confidentiality throughout the investigative process, and we hope and expect the same level of confidentiality from the institutions we engage with,” they added. 

According to the “leaked” report, which was first reported by the Times of India, the CCI’s investigative arm, following a two-year-long probe, said it had found Google guilty of adopting anti-competitive and restrictive practices in the Android operating system market. 

The probe also found that Google reduced manufacturers’ ability to make and sell devices with alternate forms of Android by imposing unfair conditions on them.

Update: The story's headline was changed.