On the one hand, Indian companies have called for a “strategic response” from the government on what they claim to be monopolistic behaviour by the US tech major. On the other hand, Google has said its actions against the ten companies are only to make the ecosystem “fair” for a “vast majority” of developers who comply with its norms.
The Centre, too, has stepped in as the tussle deepened after March 1. IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will meet both sides on Monday in an attempt to resolve the situation. Founders, who spoke to ET, said that the meeting with Vaishnaw might move things in their favour in the short term but the final clarity on whether they can come out on the top will only come from the Supreme Court after its March 19 hearing on the matter.
ETtech“We appreciate the minister stepping in. He understands the issue well and has already said that removal of apps in the way it has been done cannot be allowed… but the matter is under litigation in the Supreme Court. We expect the final clarity to come from there,” a Gurugram-based founder of one of the impacted apps said.
At the heart of the tussle is Google’s billing system for its Play Store app marketplace. Google had initially deployed its own billing system (GPBS) under which it charged a commission of 15-30% on in-app payments made for the purchase of digital goods and services consumable within the Android ecosystem.
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Following an order by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in 2022, Google had to offer more payment choices to app makers. It then introduced the user-choice billing (UCB), under which developers could deploy other payment methods such as UPI, credit cards and net banking but it still levied a commission of 11-26%, which developers said was unsustainable.
Google now offers three choices to app makers – GPBS, UCB or the “consumption-only” mode. Under the third mode, which the reinstated apps deployed to come back on to the Play Store, there is no in-app purchase method. Consumers can only use the purchased services within the app but they have to make payments externally on a browser.
“We were taken by total surprise,” a Delhi-based founder said. “The companies had approached Google, urging it to not take any steps that would affect them… but after the Supreme Court did not provide any relief on February 9, there was no option but to comply or be taken off.”
On February 9, the Supreme Court refused to restrain Google from delisting apps that were not complying with its policy.
Google did not respond to detailed queries sent on email.
The aftermath of Google’s action on March 1 also exposed cracks within the companies that were so far aligned on their opposition to the big tech firm.
“Even though the cases in the Supreme Court by various parties are merged, the strategy between different players is not coordinated… Every business is taking a call on what’s good for them,” a senior executive told ET.
Another founder said that once a few companies started “giving in” to Google’s pressure, it became tough for the remaining apps to hold their ground.
On Saturday, Google started reinstating apps including Info Edge India’s Naukri, 99acres and People Interactive’s Shaadi.com. The ten companies under question represent more than 200 apps on the Play Store.
“The apps that were taken down were of the companies that are in litigation against Google… There are many others that do not comply but are still available on the Play Store,” said one of the founders cited above.
According to one of the persons aware of the matter, Google follows due process while delisting apps for not following any of its policies whether on billing, safety or security.
The row over Google’s actions against Indian internet companies intensified last year ahead of elections at India’s top internet lobby group, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). It led to the ouster of the then leadership, led primarily by big tech companies such as Google and Facebook.
Instead, Indian entrepreneurs including Dream11 cofounder and CEO Harsh Jain, Makemytrip founder and group CEO Rajesh Magow, Matrimony.com’s Murugavel Janakiraman, Shaadi.com’s Anupam Mittal, and Infibeam Avenues’ Vishwas Patel made it into the governing council.
“Everyone was pumped up last year prior to the IAMAI elections… but even after the elections, and with a majority representation from Indian entrepreneurs, the issue at hand wasn’t addressed fully,” said one of the founders quoted above. “Other payment gateways charge 4-5% commission but Google asks for 11-26%, which is simply unaffordable for some companies.”
On March 1, IAMAI said it “strongly condemned the removal of some of the most prominent consumer digital companies’ apps from the Play Store, including those of Bharatmatrimony, Info Edge, Shaadi.com, and TrulyMadly” and urged Google to reinstate the delisted apps.
“The consumption model is one of the options, where customers can’t make a payment through an app and this will lead to friction in customer experience and revenue loss,” said Matrimony.com’s Janakiraman. “However, some app developers choose this option as this is better than not having apps at all in the Play Store.” Several Matrimony.com’s apps are still down.