Match Group, the parent company of dating apps like Tinder and OkCupid, has sued Google parent Alphabet over monopoly actions with its Play Store billing rules.
In the indictment, Match alleged that Google violates laws and abuses its power by requiring app developers to exclusively use its billing system on Android devices.
Dating applications complain about the new payment rules imposed by Google
“Ten years ago, Match Group was Google’s partner. Now we are their hostage”Match Group commented in its lawsuit. “Blinded by the prospect of ever-increasing reduction in the billions of dollars users spend each year on Android apps, Google set out to monopolize the market for how users pay for their Android apps”also points out the accusation presented this Monday in the federal court of northern California, United States.
Both in the demand and in its Press release, Match Group comments that Google lured app developers to its platform with the guarantee that they would be able to offer users a choice on how to pay for the goods and services they want. However, they charge that once Google monopolized the market for the distribution of Android applications through the Play Store, it sought to ban alternative payment processing platforms in apps, in order to take a cut of almost all transactions in the app. the application on Android through a commission, even though a large part of the users choose Tinder’s own billing options over Google Play, according to that note.
Apart from the loss of independence with the management of payments and the application of commissions by Google, Match Group highlights a series of problemssuch as the confusion that this measure can generate in those who prefer to use other payment channels, delays in the implementation of functions, privacy issues, security and the lack of certain tools.
in conversation with Bloomberga Google spokesperson reported that Match could still reach consumers through other app stores available on Android devices or on the web. “This is just a continuation of Match Group’s self-serving campaign to avoid paying for the significant value they receive from the mobile platforms they have built their business on”, he pointed. «Like any business, we charge for our services, and like any responsible platform, we protect users against fraud and abuse in the applications”he added.
According to the specialized publication in economics, the company behind Tinder and a dozen other dating applications, forecasts 42 million dollars in additional costs for the Google Play Store during 2022, as indicated by the financial director of Match, Gary Swidler, to analysts last week. This, added to the 100 million dollars in payments to Google that the company expects to make.
One of the sources of this demand lays its foundations in the usage trends of the subscribers of these apps. Swidler also noted that Match customers use the company’s in-app billing system three times more often than the service offered by Google.
