Google has taken the decisive step of removing several dating apps in India amid a serious dispute over service fee payments. Featured platforms, Including marriage in Bharatwas affected, leading to a strong reaction from Murugavel Janakiraman, founder of Matrimony.com.
According to reports, Janakiraman called the incident “a dark day for the Indian internet.”
Google Play takes away some apps in India
The crux of the disagreement revolves around attempts by certain Indian startups to resist Google’s 11% to 26% service fee for in-app payments.
The dispute stems from instructions from the country’s antitrust authorities. Google to shut down old system Charge 15% to 30%.
Notably, some startups have not yet complied with this directive. Nevertheless, Google still has the option of charging a fee or removing the app. The company obtained this right from two court decisions in January and February, including one by the Supreme Court that said startups would not be excluded.
The impact was felt on Friday with the removal of Matrimony.com dating apps such as Bharat Matrimony, Christian Matrimony, Muslim Matrimony and Jodii. Meanwhile, there is a notice Play Store violation issued Info Edge, the company behind Matrimony.com and the Jeevansathi app.
The companies are currently reviewing these notices and considering next steps, according to a report sent to Reuters. Following the news, Matrimony.com shares initially fell 2.7%, while Info Edge fell 1.5%.
especially, Founder of InfoEdgeSanjeev Bikhchandani, confirmed that the company intends to abide by Google’s policies and pay all pending invoices in a timely manner.
Google responds to this situation
In response to this situation, Google published a blog post Ten Indian companies say they are still unwilling to pay for the “huge value they get on Google Play” for an extended period of time.
It also highlighted that of the over 200,000 Indian developers on the Google Play platform, only 3% are liable to pay service fees.
Additionally, we highlighted several enforcement actions, including: Compliance with policy In the Google Play app. Failure by developers to comply may result in the removal of non-compliant applications from the platform.
This action does not involve any punishment, but serves as a means to maintain the integrity and safety of the ecosystem.
Meanwhile, the tech giant defended its right to charge fees, stressing that no court or regulator has challenged this right. The Supreme Court also refused to intervene on February 9th.
Google’s move to remove the matrimonial app is likely to provoke a strong reaction from India’s startup community. They are, protest against customs US tech giant for several years.
With the Indian market dominated by 94% mobile phones running the Android platform, Google’s actions are being watched around the world.
But the company claims its fees support investments in the app store and Android mobile operating system, and cover developer tools and analytics services.
