Google on Friday said that the decision by the Competition Commission of India to impose a fine of Rs 1,337.76 crore on it was a “major setback for consumers and businesses” in the country, ANI reported.

“CCI’s decision is a major setback for Indian consumers and businesses, opening serious security risks for Indians who trust Android’s security features and raising the cost of mobile devices for Indians,” a company spokesperson said. “We will review the decision to evaluate next steps.”

The Competition Commission of India imposed a penalty of Rs 1,337.76 crore on Google on Thursday for “abusing its dominant position” in multiple markets in the Android mobile device ecosystem.

In 2019, the Competition Commission had ordered an inquiry against Google after it had received complaints from consumers regarding its Android smartphone agreements.

Android is an operating system that runs applications and programs in smartphones. It was acquired by Google in 2005.

The commission had said that it found that pre-installation of the entire Google Mobile Suite – a collection of Google applications – was mandatory in Android smartphones and that there was no option to uninstall it.

“Their [the applications] prominent placement amounts to imposition of unfair condition on the device manufacturers and thereby contravenes competition law,” the antitrust body had said.

It had also said that the most prominent search entry points in smartphones such as the search apps, widgets and web browser Chrome – also developed by Google – are pre-installed on Android devices that gives the technology company a significant competitive edge over its competitors.