Update March 5, 4:30 p.m. IST: Google said it was restoring all of the Indian companies’ apps after both the Silicon Valley firm and the protesting companies met with India’s IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“In the spirit of cooperation, we are temporarily bringing back the apps of developers with appeals pending in the Supreme Court. Google reserves the right to implement and enforce its business model as established in various courts. We will bill our full applicable service fees in the interim and extend payment schedules for these companies. We look forward to a collaborative effort to find solutions that respect the needs of all parties,” the company said in a statement.
Indian companies whose apps were deleted by Google last week have reluctantly begun to comply with the Play Store’s charging rules to get their apps back on the store.
Apps like Shaadi, Matrimony.com and Bharat Matrimony have been restored after they were removed from the Play Store on Friday. Other returning apps include Info Edge’s Naukri and 99acres, audio narration apps Kuku FM and Stage, Alt Balaji’s Altt and dating service QuackQuack.
Google currently offers three options to developers for in-market purchases. Consumption-only model without paying a service fee (where developers like Netflix offer consumption only to account holders). Google Play’s billing system (in which the developer agrees to pay Google the long-term fee of 15% or 30%). or offer an alternative billing system (in which the developer’s fee to Google is reduced by about 4%). Many protesting developers have opted for a consumption-only model for now, while others have opted for billing on Google Play.
The companies have also sought intervention from India’s government and antitrust authority. Over the weekend, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that had worked with Google and was of the view that Google’s action to delete apps “cannot be allowed”. Affected developers are meeting with the minister today.
Lal Chand Bisu, co-founder and CEO of Kuku FM, called on Google to give preferential treatment to big companies like Spotify. Last year, during the Epic v Google trial in the US, the search giant admitted that Spotify does not pay fees to Google Play for in-app purchases due to an agreement between the two companies.
Distribution problem for developers
Last month, at an event where Walmart-backed PhonePe launched an alternative app store, startups pointed out that they have to spend a lot of marketing money to increase installs and that Google’s fees are an extra burden on the business.
On Monday, Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal echoed that sentiment and said that companies are losing a huge chunk of their revenue because of Google’s fee structure.
While alternative app stores are allowed on Android, they haven’t been able to reach massive scale. For example, Aptoid told TechCrunch last month that it achieves half a billion downloads annually from around the world. In India, PhonePe’s recently launched Indus App Store is at a nascent stage and may not provide an adequate distribution platform for apps.
In an interview with the Hindustan TimesMurugavel Janakiraman, CEO of Bharat Matrimony, said that sideloading is not a viable option for the company as it has more than 150 apps on the Play Store.
“We can’t offer them via sideloading because most people go to the Play Store to download apps. And what about alternative app stores like the recently launched Indus app store by PhonePe?” Janakiraman told the publication.
Google’s argument
Google has stood its ground, saying the company has provided multiple options for developers to comply with its rules. The search giant said fewer than 60 developers in India are subject to fees of more than 15%.
“While we always try to work with developers to help them through our policies and find workable solutions, allowing this small group of developers to be treated differently than the vast majority of developers who pay their fair share creates an uneven playing field across the ecosystem and puts all other apps and games at a competitive disadvantage,” the company said a blog post on Friday.
Google also noted that the company has given developers three years to comply with Play Store rules. In addition, he said Google gave developers a three-week grace period after that the Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the protesting companies to prevent Google from taking action against them.
Companies seeking regulatory action
Companies protesting Google’s move are seeking regulatory intervention. Info Edge co-founder Sanjeev Bikchandani, whose company makes apps like Naukri for job search and 99Acres for property listing, has asked the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to take action against Google.
On March 5, IT minister Vaishnaw said that Google has agreed to re-register all apps that were removed earlier in the month.
Snehil Khanor, co-founder and CEO of dating service TrulyMadly, along with other founders, he argued that Google has not complied with an earlier CCI ruling that allowed developers to use a third-party billing system.
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), an industry association representing India’s largest startups as well as international companies, said it was “deeply concerned” with Google’s move to delete apps.
According to a Reuters report, Indian startups wrote to CCI on March 1asking the antitrust body to step in and ask Google to reinstate apps that haven’t been restored.
