Indian App Makers Call Out Google
Says the company is forcing Indian app developers to use its billing system in territories outside India or face delisting from Google Play Store within 14 days
Having barely managed to avoid the wrath of Indian courts over antitrust allegations, Google is now asking Indian app developers to mandatorily use its Google Play Billing System in territories outside India or face delisting from Google PlayStore within 14 days.
Multiple such claims were made via Twitter with app makers calling it a violation of rulings made by India’s antitrust regulator Competition Commission of India, while others have sought the intervention of the government to help control what they described as neo-colonialism. The first off the blocks was Shaadi.com parent company founder Anupam Mittal.
Neo-colonialism is how it’s being described
In a tweet, he said, “Received a call from @Google today mandating their payments for Indian developers in continued violation & disregard of @CCI_India orders & Indian laws. Neo-colonialism at its worst! Hope the media, courts & @PMOIndia are taking note … the Digital East India Co is here”.
For readers who’re not aware, Google replaced the Global Play Billing System with the User Choice Billing after being rapped on the knuckles by the antitrust regulator. Under the former, Google mandates all in-app purchases to be routed through its payment gateway with the app makers coughing up 30% as commission.
As per the orders, the User Choice Billing option, expected to come into force within a week, other payment options are to be provided. These include credit and debit cards, net banking, digital payments via UPI and wallets, with the commission ranging from 11 to 26%.
MapMyIndia joins forces with Shaadi.com
Close on the heels of Mittal’s tweet, the MapMyIndia boss Rohan Verma joined the fray stating that everyone needs to stand up for India and Indians and stop this foreign colonial domination and destruction of the domestic society and indigenous rights.
A report published by ET quoted Mittal to suggest that the CCI had clarified that Google cannot mandate any billing system through its order of October last year. While specifically not referring to Google’s billing system, the antitrust body did state that Google cannot apply any billing system of its choice in the matter.
“Now, they have said that while in India GPBS cannot be implemented, overseas, Indian developers will have to comply with it. So, any Indian developer’s app being used in the UK, for example, will have to pay that commission as per GPBS. Even the CCI order talks about Indian developers, not just the Indian territory,” he was reported as saying in the article. He claimed that Google was violating the spirit of the judgment with their latest demand.
Meanwhile, an industry body – Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) – representing Indian startups such as MapmyIndia, Paytm, Matrimony and TrulyMadly, had petitioned the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the CCI to intervene in case Google was not implementing the UCB system from April 26 onwards.
The association alleged that Google was once again engaging in anti-competitive conduct by implementing even the user choice billing option. The court has already heard the petitioners and the defense and reserved the verdict.
