Ahead Of Google Play Store Billing Policy Deadline, Developers Plan Legal Action

Ahead of Google’s October 31 deadline, Indian app developers are gearing up to file a petition in the court to seek the status quo on Google’s Play Store policies.

The order comes barely a day after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found Google guilty of abusing dominance concerning its Play Store policies.

Sources told The Hindu businessline that Match Group and the Alliance of Digital India Foundation will likely seek a stay order against Google. On the other hand, a group of petitioners also plans on appealing to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance to compel the tech giant to maintain the status quo on its policies. 

The sudden haste to approach courts comes as a pre-emptive move to contain Google, even as the industry celebrates CCI’s ruling. At the heart of contention appears to be the October 31 deadline set by Google for developers to incorporate Google Play’s billing system in their apps.

While the deadline has been pushed forward many times, Google is likely to move ahead this time. Non-adherence to the billing norms could lead to delisting of apps from Google Play Store.

While the tech giant is effectively now barred from implementing these norms owing to the CCI ruling, it still has 30 days to enact CCI’s proposed changes. Interestingly, the October 31 deadline lies right in the middle of the timeframe and invariably allows the tech giant to take a call on implementing the mandates. 

With the stay, however, app developers intend to prevent Google from removing apps that do not comply with the payments system mandate.  

Google Vs Indian Government

This comes a day after CCI slapped an INR 936 Cr penalty on Google in an antitrust case. What appears to have hit Google more has been CCI’s order, allowing app developers to use third party payment systems. 

Earlier today, the tech giant said that Indian developers ‘benefited from the technology, security, consumer protections, and unrivalled choice and flexibility that Android and Google Play offer.

However, app developers have time and again pointed out the high commissions charged by Google and a bar on the usage of third-party payment systems on apps listed on the Play Store. 

Critics have also claimed that such directives have stifled competition and have strengthened monopolies such as Google. This stance was also vindicated by the CCI, which found Google guilty of ‘denial of market access’ for payment aggregators and app developers.

This is the second instance of CCI imposing a penalty on Google within a week. In the previous case, the competition watchdog fined the tech giant INR 1,337.76 Cr for abusing its dominant position in the Android devices market.

While there is a high probability that the case could languish in Indian courts for years, the immediate consequences may wreak havoc for the app developers. As Google enjoys near total monopoly in the Indian app marketplace market, a snap there could be a death knell for many players.