The Competition Commission has launched an investigation against Google over alleged anti-competitive practices related to the pricing policy of its Play Store. According to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the complainants have raised concerns over Google's recent payment policies, particularly in relation to its app store, the Google Play Store. The complainants allege that these policies violate competition laws.
It is also alleged that the payment policies are stated to be impacting several stakeholders, including app developers, payment processors, and users alike. The commission has ordered the probe after prima-facie finding that Google has violated Section 4 of the Competition Act that pertains to abuse of dominant position.
The commission passed a 21-page order, where it noted that Google claims that a service fee is charged for a multitude of services provided by Play Store to app developers. If the service fee is for the services rendered to app developers, then the reasoning given by Google does not appear to be reasonable, the watchdog noted.
Further, it said the issue assumes importance in view of the fact that various physical delivery apps are very large in size and yet do not contribute towards recoupment of Google's investment in Play Store (as claimed by Google).
"Extending this further, it is not clear as to why consumption-only apps have been allowed relaxation when their content is consumed within the app.
On the whole, the applicability of service fee seems to be arbitrary and discriminatory," the CCI said.
Meanwhile, a group of Indian startup founders have stated that they will continue to oppose the imposition of a fee ranging from 11 to 26 percent on in-app payments by a tech giant. The founders recently met with Union IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar to discuss the issue. After the meeting, they stated that the government had assured them of their support.
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Inputs from PTI
