I’ve Called Google, This Can’t Be Allowed: IT Minister Vaishnaw As Google Removes Indian Apps
Mumbai: After Google delisted some Indian apps from the Play Store on Friday, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said he has called Google as well as the app developers and he will be meeting them next week.
In response, he requested a meeting with the tech giant and declared that the government will not allow the de-listing of apps.
“Government takes strong view of Google de-listing some apps from Play Store and it will not allow this de-listing of apps,” the Union Minister reportedly stated, according to PTI.
This comes after Google issued warnings about apps that don’t match its Play Store billing policies being removed. According to Mint, Google requires developers to use its in-house payment facilities and pay a 30% commission for in-app purchases, which include the selling of digital goods and subscription services.
“India is quite transparent, and so is our policy. Our startups will receive the necessary protection. Google has already received my call. We will be speaking with the app developers who were delisted next week; I have already given them a call. We cannot allow this to continue. The IT Minister declared, “This kind of de-listing cannot be permitted.”
Furthermore, Google has been urged by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) to refrain from removing apps from its Google Play Store.
IAMAI recommended Google not to remove any apps from Google Play in a statement.
In a statement, IAMAI advised Google not to de-list any apps from Google Play.
“The affected members of IAMAI are of the view that a substantive hearing of the case is pending before the Supreme Court of India, and Google should not take any coercive action during the pendency of the case,” IAMAI said.
Notably, Google responded by stating that a small number of businesses—some of which are well-known—have chosen not to pay the Play Store service charge for in-app purchases, giving them an unfair advantage over the vast majority of developers who follow the rules. Google claimed to have given developers enough time—more than three years—to adapt to the policy, and that it had granted them an extra three weeks of grace in response to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court.
Amid strong criticism from a few prominent Indian startups over Google Play’s pricing strategy and the launch of the Indus Appstore as a homegrown substitute, Google stressed in a blog post that giving preferential treatment to a few developers who fail to pay their fair share leads to an unbalanced market environment. Due to this, the majority of apps and games that follow the normal payment structure have an advantage over all other apps and games.
“After giving these developers more than three years to prepare, including three weeks after the Supreme Court’s order, we are taking necessary steps to ensure our policies are applied consistently across the ecosystem, as we do for any form of policy violation globally,” Google said in its blogpost.
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