Google Scores Partial Victory in Android Antitrust Case in India

The logo of Google LLC is seen at a Google Store in New York City, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of Google LLC is seen at a Google Store in New York City, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)
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Google Scores Partial Victory in Android Antitrust Case in India

The logo of Google LLC is seen at a Google Store in New York City, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)
The logo of Google LLC is seen at a Google Store in New York City, US, January 20, 2023. (Reuters)

An Indian tribunal on Wednesday gave partial relief to Alphabet Inc's Google by setting aside four of 10 antitrust directives in a case related to abuse of its dominant position in Android.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in October that Google had exploited its dominant position in Android and told it to remove restrictions imposed on device makers, including related to pre-installation of apps. It also fined Google $161 million.

An Indian appeals tribunal on Wednesday said CCI's findings of Google's anti-competitive conduct were correct and the company was also liable to pay the fine, but it quashed four of the 10 antitrust remedies that had been imposed on Google to change its business model.

Among the reliefs, Google will now not need to allow hosting of third-party app stores inside Play Store, as had been previously ordered by the CCI.

The move will come as some relief for Google after India's Supreme Court in January refused to suspend any of the antitrust remedies ordered last year. The top court had asked the tribunal to hear the case on merit and rule by March end.

Google has been concerned about India's Android decision as the directives were seen as more sweeping than those imposed in the European Commission's landmark 2018 ruling against the operating system.

It has said "no other jurisdiction has ever asked for such far-reaching changes", and repeatedly argued that the growth of its Android ecosystem will stall in India due to the decision.



Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok Gets an Update, Starts Sharing Antisemitic Posts

xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok Gets an Update, Starts Sharing Antisemitic Posts

xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company said Wednesday that it's taking down “inappropriate posts" made by its Grok chatbot, which appeared to include antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler.

Grok was developed by Musk’s xAI and pitched as alternative to “woke AI” interactions from rival chatbots like Google’s Gemini, or OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Musk said Friday that Grok has been improved significantly, and users “should notice a difference.”

Since then, Grok has shared several antisemitic posts, including the trope that Jews run Hollywood, and denied that such a stance could be described as Nazism.

“Labeling truths as hate speech stifles discussion,” Grok said.

It also appeared to praise Hitler, according to screenshots of a post that has now apparently been deleted.

“We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts,” the Grok account posted early Wednesday, without being more specific.

"Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved.

Also Wednesday, a court in Türkiye ordered a ban on Grok after it spread content insulting to Turkish President and others.

The pro-government A Haber news channel reported that Grok posted vulgarities against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother and well-known personalities. Offensive responses were also directed toward modern Türkiye's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, other media outlets said.

That prompted the Ankara public prosecutor to file for the imposition of restrictions under Türkiye's internet law, citing a threat to public order. A criminal court approved the request early on Wednesday, ordering the country’s telecommunications authority to enforce the ban.

It's not the first time Grok's behavior has raised questions.

Earlier this year the chatbot kept talking about South African racial politics and the subject of “white genocide” despite being asked a variety of questions, most of which had nothing to do with the country. An “unauthorized modification” was behind the problem, xAI said.