Google Under Investigation by Dutch Consumer Watchdog Over Play Store Payments

A complaint said that Google only offers its own payments when users purchase apps on the Play Store.

By Reuters | Updated: 5 May 2022 10:26 IST

Silicon Valley giants have repeatedly come up against problems over alleged anti-competitive behaviour

Highlights

Match Group lodged a complaint against Google
Google Play and Apple's App Store dominate the global market
The Netherlands fined Apple a total of $52 million earlier this year

The Dutch consumer watchdog on Wednesday said it had launched a preliminary investigation into Google over its Play store for apps, months after targeting fellow tech giant Apple.

The Match Group, which owns dating site Tinder, lodged a complaint saying that Google only allowed its own payment system to be used when purchasing apps, the Authority for Consumers and Markets said.

Google Play is used to buy applications to be used on smartphones and tablets using Google's Android system, which together with Apple dominates the global market.

[Sponsored] Samsung Galaxy S24: The Ultimate Camera Phone With Smarter On-Device AI

"We very recently received a complaint, and we will see if there is material to launch a formal inquiry," the Dutch regulator's spokesman Murco Mijnlieff told AFP.

The process "could take years" but the competition watchdog "may be able to get results faster because of the possible resemblance to Apple", he added.

The Netherlands fined Apple a total of $52 million (roughly Rs. 396 crore) between January and March this year for similar conditions relating to payments on Apple's App Store.

Apple Announces Removal of Outdated Apps, Give Developers More Time

The watchdog said app developers must be able to use other payment systems than Apple's. Apple has still not complied, and the Dutch regulator is now considering a further fine, Mijnlieff said.

Silicon Valley giants have repeatedly come up against problems in the United States and Europe over alleged anti-competitive behaviour.

The EU formally accused Apple on Friday of unfairly squeezing out its music streaming rivals.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

Should you buy a 4G or 5G budget phone? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.