After failing to block an antitrust order, Alphabet's Google on Wednesday, January 25, announced several changes to the way it runs its operating system Android and app store Google Play in India in compliance with the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) directives.
Google stated that it takes seriously its commitment to abide by local laws and regulations in India. "The Competition Commission of India (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," the company said in a statement.
The changes will now enable original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to license individual Google apps for pre-installation on their devices which were earlier pre-installed for free with Android.
Additionally, while setting up a new Android smartphone or tablet in India, users will soon be presented with the choice screen, which will allow them to select their default search engine.
The step was taken after the Supreme Court maintained stringent antitrust guidelines, which compelled the US tech giant to alter the way it promotes its well-known Android platform in a key growing area.
In October 2022, the CCI ruled that Google had abused its dominance over Android and ordered it to remove all limitations on device manufacturers, including those related to pre-installing applications and guaranteeing Google's search monopoly.
Google is also upgrading its backend to allow partners "to build non-compatible or forked variants." Beginning next month, all applications and games will also support user choice billing. "Through user choice billing, developers can offer users the option to choose an alternative billing system alongside Google Play’s billing system when purchasing in-app digital content," it said.
It added that Android has always supported the installation of apps from a variety of sources, including via sideloading, which entails downloading apps straight from a developer's website.
"We recently made changes to the Android installation flow and auto-updating capability for sideloaded apps and app stores while ensuring users understand the potential security risks," it informed.
