A division bench of the Madras High Court has denied the pleas filed by domestic startups challenging Google's new "User Choice Billing" policy. However, an earlier temporary protection against delisting was extended for a further three weeks by the bench composed of Chief Justice S. V. Gangapurwala and Justice P. D. Audikesavalu.
Google's new billing policies were announced after the American technology giant received an unfavourable order from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in October 2022. As per the said order, Google could not mandate developers to use only the Google Play Billing System (GBPS). The GBPS charges 15-30% commissions on transactions. The order of the CCI was followed by Google introducing three payment collection options for applications listed on the Google Playstore, namely, the GBPS, the User Choice Billing policy and the consumption-only system.
Several well-known startups have joined the appeal: Bharat Matrimony, Unacademy, Kuku FM, Kutumb, TrulyMadly, QuackQuack, Shaadi.com, and so on.
About sixteen Indian app developers filed a petition with the Madras High Court between April and July of 2023, requesting relief from Google's pressure to enrol in "User Choice Billing" and adopt the company's revised Payments Policy. The Play Store threatened to remove these app makers' creations if they didn't comply.
A single judge denied 14 of the 16 petitions filed by Indian startups in August of last year, which were contesting Google's new user-choice billing mechanism. The most recent Division Bench Ruling is the outcome of an appeal against the earlier ruling that rejected the Startups' arguments. Startups have contended that Google had enforced the exclusive and required usage of the Google Play Billing System (GPBS) for processing payments related to the download of premium apps and in-app purchases in 2020. They have to pay 15% to 30% in fees to use the GPBS. Additionally, developers are prohibited from using language in their apps that would persuade users to buy the digital product outside of the app or from directly linking users to a webpage that accepts a different payment method (anti-steering requirements).
Originally published 03 April 2024
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.