Google Claims India Antitrust Ruling Could Cause ‘Irreparable Harm’ to Company

Google has claimed that a recent antitrust ruling in India would do “irreparable harm” to the company.

An Indian antitrust ruling, which has found the search giant guilty of manipulating search results, could do “irreparable harm” to the company according to Google, Reuters reports. The tech titan was fined $20 million in February by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for abusing their position in the online search market. The commission also criticized Google for preventing their partners from using search engines developed by other companies.

Following the verdict in February, the company stated that the ruling raised “narrow concerns,” but their latest plea challenging the CCI’s ruling implies that it could have greater consequences for the company than they previously believed. According to a copy of Google’s plea, obtained by Reuters, the company stated that the CCI’s order “requires Google to change the way it conducts business in India on a lasting basis and the way it designs its search results page in India.”

One of the stipulations in the CCI’s order was that Google must stop imposing restrictions on its search agreements with other publishers. the company claims that the implementation of the CCI’s orders “without appellate scrutiny would cause Google irreparable reputational loss.” The search giant has so far declined to comment on the details of the plea deal.

The CCI’s order from February 8th stated that: “By restricting websites from partnering with competing search services, Google was denying its competitors access to the search business and further marginalizing competitors.” The order also stated that “volume of business generated through these agreements is substantial.” Google’s plea on the ruling claimed: “If Google is restricted from entering into certain types of contracts while the appellate review is conducted, Google will be irreparably harmed,”

The next appeal is set for May 28.