Amid an ongoing dispute between Google and start-ups in India, the tech giant has taken action by removing 10 apps from its Play Store. This move comes as a response to Google’s imposition of a fee ranging from 11 to 26 percent on in-app payments, following an order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to abandon its previous system of charging 15 to 30 percent.
Google has initiated the removal of several apps from its Play Store in India, citing non-payment of service fees. The tech giant stated, “For an extended period of time, 10 companies, including many well-established ones, have chosen to not pay for the immense value they receive on Google Play by securing interim protections from court. These developers comply with payment policies of other app stores,” prior to removing the apps belonging to these 10 companies from the platform.
Amid an ongoing dispute between Google and start-ups in India, the tech giant’s decision to remove apps from its Play Store comes at a crucial juncture. The conflict stems from Google’s imposition of a fee ranging from 11 to 26 percent on in-app payments, following an order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to scrap its previous system of charging 15 to 30 percent.
Despite the matter being contested in the Supreme Court, the top court did not grant interim relief to the affected companies, adding to the complexity of the situation.
Google has refrained from disclosing the names of the 10 firms affected, but it has been revealed that several matrimonial apps, including Shaadi, Matrimony.com, and Bharat Matrimony, along with Balaji Telefilms’ Altt (formerly ALTBalaji), audio platform Kuku FM, dating service Quack Quack, and Truly Madly, were among those removed from the Play Store.
Expressing dismay over Google’s actions, Bharat Matrimony founder Murugavel Janakiraman described it as a “dark day” for the Internet in India, while Vinod Kumar Meena, co-founder of Kuku FM, criticized Google for behaving like a “monopoly.” QuackQuack founder Ravi Mittal stated that the company intends to adhere to the rules to regain access to the marketplace.
According to a PTI report, Google had previously sent notices to Matrimony.com, which operates the BharatMatrimony app, and Info Edge, which operates a similar app called Jeevansathi.