Match Group, the parent company of Tinder and OkCupid, filed a lawsuit against Google on Monday, accusing it of abusing dominance over smartphones, the latest stage in app companies ’rebellion against technology giants . .
Google almost completely dominates and controls the Android application distribution marketthe mobile operating system of most smartphones in the world, explains Match Group in its press release titled End Google Tax (End Google Tax).
And it has abused its power to the detriment of users and app developers in various wayscontinues the team that specializes in dating applications.
Match Group accuses Google of taking advantage of its dominant position on mobile devices to impose rules it deems unfair, and it cannot avoid unless it surrenders the majority of its public.
Google wants to regain control of payments
The company decided to file a complaint due to a recent change in regulations: to date, some of its applications offer an alternative payment system in the Play Store (the main platform for downloading applications on Android ).
But this possibility will disappear, the Match group explained in documents filed Monday in California court.
They are asking the court to force Google to let Match offer its alternative for payments on its applications-and thus escape the 15 to 30% commission that Google charges on transactions.
If justice does not intervene, and if Match Group failed to comply with Google’s policy change, web giant clarified that it will remove Match apps from Google Playconcerned with the legal team representing Match.
The battle of Fortnite and Epic Games
Match accuses Google of threats to sentence Match Group to death, a threat they made against fellow developer, Epic Games.
In this case, more than one billion users of Android devices worldwide may no longer have access to Match Group applications.
The publisher of the video game Epic Games (Fortnite), involved in a legal dispute against Google and Apple in the summer of 2020 for similar reasons. In November, a U.S. federal judge ordered Apple to allow an alternative payment system within the App Store, but also ruled that Epic failed to prove that Apple violated antitrust law. .
South Korea fined Google in September nearly US $ 180 million (C $ 234 million) for abusing its dominant position in the mobile app market.
Google did not immediately respond to a request from the AFP.
Source: Radio-Canada
