New Delhi, NFAPost: As June 8 deadline approaches, several startups including Unacademy, Kuku FM, TrulyMadly have moved the Madras High Court challenging Google’s notice asking them to either adopt the company’s mandated billing route or risk being removed from its Play Store.
These companies join the likes of Matrimony.com and Shaadi.com which have already approached the high court challenging Google’s billing policies. It has been reported that some startups have received notices from Google.
One of such emails read: “Your App is a non-Google provider to accept payment for access to in-app features or services, including any App functionality, digital content or goods (collectively ‘App Purchases’) Play uses a billing system. Your app might. If you don’t fix this issue it will be removed from our distribution, limited to Google Play.”
“To maintain the immense value provided by Google Play, we expect developers to participate fairly in our business model, as they do with other app stores. To help them, comply with our policies and if a developer chooses not to be compliant, they have many other options to conduct their business on Android,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
A petition has been filed by alliance of Digital India Foundation, a body of startups, with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Google’s policies and the proceedings on the issue are currently under competition watch.
The Madras High Court had restrained Google from removing Matrimony.com apps from the Play Store till June 1. It was later extended till June 8, when Google was expected to present its arguments. The startups accused Google of trying to circumvent the CCI order, which directed the company not to prohibit app developers from using in-app purchases or using third-party billing or payment processing services for app purchases was.
Now Google has other options available for developers to conduct their business on Android, including distribution through the multiple Android app stores or directly through their website. The options available to developers are: integrating Google Play’s billing system, offering an alternative billing system with Google Play for users in India and 35 other markets, or based solely on consumption without paying a service fee Operate, even if it is part of a paid service.
The Google Play service cost will be lowered by 4% if a user uses an alternative billing method, according to Google’s announcement of the user choice billing method. As a result, under this payment system, Google will receive an 11% or 26% commission from app creators. The business said that service fees had helped to partially finance its investments in Android and Google Play.
