Indian developers, whose apps were delisted from Google’s Play Store last week, met with senior government officials on Monday for a “sustainable and long-term solution” to the tussle between the startups and the technology giant.
“Today, startups presented their concerns regarding a few policies of Google. Assured them that the Ministry of Electronics and IT will take it up with Google for a sustainable and long-term solution,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar, information technology (IT) minister of state, said in a post on social media platform X.
He added that the government would work towards a level playing field for big and small firms alike, while creating an ecosystem that will catalyse growth for startups.
It was a day full of meetings for Indian app developers. Many dashed to meet Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw, apart from Chandrasekhar.
As many as 10 developer apps were removed from Google’s Play Store on Friday. Sources confirmed that at least eight of them have returned to the store.
“The only outcome we are hoping for is that we want our apps to be restored on the Play Store as they were on Friday morning before delisting. All we want from Google is to wait until the CCI (Competition Commission of India) and Supreme Court order,” said Vinay Singhal, founder and chief executive officer of STAGE, at a press conference organised by industry body Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF).
App developers expressed concern over Google’s “arbitrary revenue share”. The tech major, they said, was using its dominant position to charge exorbitant commissions of 15-30 per cent for its services.
“We pay only 0.25 per cent commissions on (third-party) payment gateway charges. Most companies do not pay more than 2 per cent, which is on the higher side. Google, on the same service, is charging a 15-30 per cent share,” said Singhal.
Google’s billing policy, developers said, also gave the company access to every transaction made by customers, along with other sensitive user data.
“On top of that, they (Google) have asked for audit rights on our books in our office. They can basically raid our office at any point and audit our books. By doing that, they are in direct conflict with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, where we have to provide Google this data without the consent of users,” Singhal added.
Abhishek Kejariwal, founder of Kutumb, another app that was removed by Google, said: “We have sought an immediate resolution, as well as a long-term framework for protection of startups.”
Sources said that the long-term framework suggested by developers would include legislation, as well as an indigenously built app store for Indian users.
Google, on the other hand, has maintained that not all developers pay such charges. In a blog supporting the delisting, Google said only 3 per cent of developers in India sell digital goods or services and therefore need to pay a service fee, the vast majority of whom pay 15 per cent or less — the lowest of any major global app store. “In fact, in India, less than 60 developers on Google Play are subject to fees above 15 per cent.” There are over 200,000 Indian developers on Google Play.
On Friday, Google announced that it had removed apps from 10 developers from its app store for alleged non-compliance with its user choice billing (UCB) system. These include apps like Shaadi, Bharat Matrimony, Balaji Telefilms’ Altt (formerly ALTBalaji), audio platform Kuku FM, dating service Quack Quack, and Info Edge group’s Naukri.com and 99 Acres.
According to industry watchers, around 10 of the 200-plus delisted apps are now back on its Play Store after being modified to fit Google’s payment policy.
The re-listed apps are running on what Google calls a consumption-only model, where any products or services (digital or physical) cannot be purchased from within the app. This allows developers to not pay Google the 11-30 per cent service fee. The apps can, on the other hand, undertake transactions through their own respective websites.
The absence of an in-app billing system has, however, taken a toll on the companies’ operations. Several companies reported a revenue cut of up to 40 per cent within one day of delisting, Business Standard had reported earlier.
Apps like Kuku FM and STAGE, which command around 4 million and 1.5 million monthly downloads respectively, have reported a complete halt in new customer acquisition over the past four days, executives at the companies said.
The development comes amid an ongoing spat between Indian developers and Google over its billing policy. After the Madras High Court dismissed pleas of several Indian startups against Google’s billing policy last year, app developers escalated the issue to the apex court.
Although the Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeals filed by ten developers on March 19, it refused to provide any interim relief to them.
First Published: Mar 04 2024 | 9:30 PM IST