Google Warned by Government, Removal of Apps From its Play Store Cannot Be Permitted

The central government has reacted strongly to the decision of American technology company Google to remove some apps from the Play Store. Information Technology Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday that Google cannot be allowed to do this. Google removed some apps from its Play Store on Friday. It said that these apps had not paid the fees.

Regarding this, Ashwini said that she Google He has had discussions with Google and will also hold meetings with startups that need protection. “This cannot be allowed. This kind of de-listing cannot be allowed,” Ashwini said in a statement. Google has declined to comment on this.

Google claims that these app developers have not paid the Play Store fees for availing its services. Due to this, they are being removed from Google’s Android App Marketplace. Some companies had filed petitions in the Madras High Court challenging the billing policy of Google’s Play Store. These companies argue that Google charges heavy fees for its services. Google charges a service fee of 11 percent to 26 percent per download of a paid app. Apart from this, fees are also charged on purchases made in the app.

These companies include Unacademy, Kuku FM and Info Edge. According to the report of NDTV Profit, the High Court had rejected this appeal. However, the Supreme Court had agreed to hear the petitions filed by these companies. The Supreme Court refused to give any interim order to Google not to delist the apps of these companies from the Play Store. Companies had written a letter to Google requesting not to delist the apps till the Supreme Court hears the special leave petition on March 19. Google says, “Over the years, no court or regulator has denied Google’s right to charge fees for Play Store services. The Supreme Court also refused to interfere with our right to do so on February 9. Some of these app developers have started participating fairly in our business model and ecosystem. However, some others are finding ways not to do so.” Google has said that only 60 app developers in the country are charging more than 15 percent fees.