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Google appeals $21M antitrust fine in India, says report

The country’s competition watchdog had penalised Google for “search bias.”

Zoey Chong Reporter
Zoey is CNET's Asia News Reporter based in Singapore. She prefers variety to monotony and owns an Android mobile device, a Windows PC and Apple's MacBook Pro all at the same time. Outside of the office, she can be found binging on Korean variety shows, if not chilling out with a book at a café recommended by a friend.
Zoey Chong
Google headquarters in Mountain View, California

Google is appealing a penalty imposed upon it by the Competition Commission of India for anticompetitive behaviour.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

Google has filed an appeal at an Indian court against a judgment by the country's competition watchdog which found that the search engine abused its market dominance and demonstrated anticompetitive behaviour, Reuters reported Tuesday.

The Competition Commission of India imposed a $21.1 million penalty on Google in February after it found the company guilty of manipulating the design of its search engine to favour its own services. The CCI described Google's "search bias" as being harmful to rivals and users.

The setback follows a record $2.7 billion fine the European Commission imposed on Google last June for prioritising its own shopping services over rivals' in its search results. The company is also appealing against that penalty.

A CCI official described the group's judgment as "robust" in a statement to Reuters, adding that it intends to defend its verdict in court.

Google has confirmed to CNET it is appealing the decision. 

CCI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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