Google has taken down apps from 10 major Indian companies, including popular matrimony apps like Bharat Matrimony, due to an ongoing disagreement over service fee payments, as reported by Reuters.
The move follows a wave of protests by Indian startups against Google’s practices, particularly its in-app fee charges, which have been a source of contention for years.
Founder of Matrimony(dot)com, Murugavel Janakiraman, expressed his concerns, stating that it’s a “dark day” for India’s internet as their apps are being deleted one by one. This move could potentially impact all the top matrimony services.
The dispute revolves around Indian startups resisting Google’s imposition of a fee ranging from 11% to 26% on in-app payments, following orders from antitrust authorities to dismantle an earlier system charging 15% to 30%. Despite court decisions in January and February favoring Google’s right to enforce the fee or remove apps, discussions between the tech giant and affected companies are ongoing.
In response, Google sent notices of Play Store violations to Matrimony(dot)com and Info Edge, the company behind a similar app called Jeevansathi. Matrimony(dot)com shares initially dipped but closed up 2.2%, and Info Edge also recovered losses after an initial drop.
Google, in a blog post, emphasized that these companies had chosen not to pay for an extended period, highlighting the importance of fair contributions. The tech giant argued that allowing some developers not to pay created an uneven playing field, underscoring the dominance of its Android platform in the Indian market, where 94% of phones use Android.
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