App developers are gearing up to file a plea, seeking status quo on Google’s Play Store policies, in the light of the recent order by the Competition Commission of India. Sources told businessline that a group of petitioners plans on appealing to the courts, the Ministry of Information and Technology, and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, to induce the tech company to maintain status quo. .
The original CCI informants on the anti-trust case against Google’s Play Store practices — Match Group and the Alliance of Digital India Foundation — are likely to petition a stay order against Google, according to sources.
This comes after the CCI’s Tuesday judgment, which fined the American tech giant ₹936.44 crore for its discriminatory Play Store policies. This was the second penalty against the internet giant within a week. The anti-trust regulator also issued a cease-and-desist order against Google, asking it to modify its conduct within three months. The CCI also mandated Google to allow app developers from using any third-party billing services for their in-app transactions.
Google responded by saying that they are evaluating the recent CCI order and reviewing the next steps. However, experts maintain that it is highly likely that Google will be appealing the CCI verdict. Indian app developers are, meanwhile, warmly welcoming the CCI verdict; however, uncertainty remains around whether the tech giant will still mandate apps to adhere to the October 31 deadline for incorporating Google Play’s billing system. After delaying the deadline date multiple times, especially as a result of the pending CCI case, Google announced that Indian app developers have time till October 31 to comply with their payments policy.
Under the policy, app developers are mandated to use the Google Play billing system for their in-app purchases. After October 31, Google will remove app that does not comply with its payment policies. The CCI verdict effectively disallows Google to implement this policy, but Google may not adhere to the CCI’s mandate and file for an appeal. Thus, a stay order by developers, would prevent Google from removing apps that did not comply with their billing policies. There are multiple app developers that businessline spoke to who do not use Google Play’s billing system at present, but opt for third-party billing systems.
