Google To Remove Apps From Play Store On Non-Compliance Of Service-Charge Norms

Google will remove mobile applications from its Google Play store if they are non-compliant with the tech major's service-charge norms, it said on Friday.

In a blog post, Google said 10 companies have remained non-compliant with the service-charge norms, seeking legal protections. These developers have, however, complied with payment policies of other app stores. The Alphabet Inc.-operated search engine currently has over 2 lakh app developers who comply with its payment policies, it said.

On Feb. 9, the Supreme Court also "refused to interfere with our right to do so. While some of the developers that were refused interim protection have started fairly participating in our business model and ecosystem, others choose to find ways to not do so", Google said.

Such non-compliance creates an uneven playing field across the ecosystem and puts all other apps and games at a competitive disadvantage, according to Google. "Enforcement of our policy, when necessary, can include removal of non-compliant apps from Google Play."

In its blog post, Google said it is offering three payment options for apps seeking to comply with the payment policies.

• Operate on a consumption-only basis without paying a service fee, even if it is part of a paid service. 

• Integrate Google Play's billing system, enabling them to easily transact with millions of customers around the world and give their users safe ways to pay and the ability to manage their payments from a central location.

• Offer an alternative billing system alongside Google Play's for users in India. When users opt for alternative billing systems, the fee is further reduced by an additional 4%.

InfoEdge India Ltd. has been compliant with the payment policies since the Supreme Court order. Google has sent notices to companies seeking compliance, according to founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani

"There are no pending invoices of Google with us. All have been paid in a timely manner. We are replying to the notice," Bikhchandani said.

Snehil Khanor, chief executive officer of Truly Madly, said the notice sent is similar to Google's blogpost and as of now, its legal team is checking the details. "They are coercing us to remove other payment gateways despite a clear order by (the) CCI. It shows that they don't care about Indian laws," Khanor told NDTV Profit.

Matrimony.com is another company affected by this. Google did not give the company any time to reply to the notice, according to CEO Murugavel Janakiraman.

It removed its app, 'Jodii', from Google Play in no time. "Our app is removed. It shows how Google is going towards monopoly in India," Janakiraman said.

"We made changes after (the) Feb. 9 order to comply with Google's policies; chose from payment options that Google made available," Rohan Mathur, business head of Jeevansathi.com., said.

The company is trying to understand the reasons for this notice and is working on sending a reply to Google, Mathur said.