Google is in the headlines yet again for its allegedly anticompetitive conduct with the Play store.
The tech giant has been sued by dating apps maker Match Group Inc for refusing to share almost 30 per cent of their sales.
The Tinder owner said that the step was a “last resort” to prevent its other apps from being booted off the Play store.
This is not the first time Google has been sued for its monopolistic attitude as previously “Fortnite” maker Epic Games filed a lawsuit against Alphabet Inc for a similar ordeal.
According to Shar Dubey, the chief executive officer of the Match Group, “We tried, in good faith, to resolve these concerns with Google, but their insistence and threats have left us no choice.”
Seeking to bar such behaviour, Match’s lawsuit alleges Google has violated federal and state antitrust laws.
In its filing, Match said that even though its customer prefers Tinder’s payment system Google is trying to intimidate them by saying that it will block downloads of those apps which were previously exempted by June 1 unless they solely offer its payment system and share revenue.
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After lowering its fees, Google told developers that they can bypass the Play store as they have created other programmes to address concerns.
Defending its decision, Google said its payment tool helps deter scams and added “Like any business, we charge for our services, and like any responsible platform, we protect users against fraud.”
But Dubey said that going around Play was unviable and added that “It’s like saying, ‘you don’t have to take the elevator to get to the 60th floor of a building, you can always scale the outside wall.'”
(With inputs from agencies)
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