Google India’s Potential Removal of BharatMatrimony, Info Edge, and Others Over Non-Payment Dispute.
Google India is considering the removal of apps from 10 Indian companies, including well-known matrimony apps, due to disagreements over service fee payments. This move could lead to heightened tensions with startup firms, as reported by Reuters, citing insider sources.
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The dispute centres around Indian startups resisting Google’s imposition of service fees ranging from 11-26 percent on in-app payments in India. This disagreement arose after antitrust authorities directed Google to dismantle its previous fee structure, which charged between 15-30 percent.
Google India’s Potential Removal of apps, Legal approvals have empowered Google to enforce the fee or remove apps, following court rulings in January and February. The Supreme Court’s decision not to provide relief to startups played a pivotal role in granting this authorization.
Google’s Alphabet Inc. unit has issued notices of Play Store violations to Indian companies Matrimony.com and Info Edge. Matrimony.com, the operator of the BharatMatrimony app, and Info Edge, which runs the Jeevansathi app, are currently evaluating the notices.
Upon news of the potential removal, shares of Matrimony.com and Info Edge initially dropped by 2.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, but have since recovered. At 1.35 pm, Matrimony.com was trading at ₹545, and Info Edge at ₹5,291.15.
Executives from both companies have confirmed they are reviewing the notices and planning their next steps in response.
Google emphasized its right to charge fees in a blog post, pointing out that 10 Indian companies have opted not to pay for the significant value they receive on Google Play. The tech giant cited the Supreme Court’s decision on February 9, which upheld its right to levy fees.
The potential removal of apps by Google has sparked concerns within the Indian startup ecosystem, which has been critical of the company’s practices. Google, with a dominant 94 percent share of Android-based phones, maintains that its fees support investments in the app store and Android OS, ensuring free distribution and covering developer tools and analytics services.
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Google also noted that only 3 percent of the over 200,000 Indian developers on the Google Play platform are subject to any service fees.
