Indian Startup Founders To Move CCI Against Google

• Indian startups to move CCI (Competition Commission of India) against Google's monopoly in the app ecosystem.
• Earlier this week, Paytm launched its mini-app store to support local developers and startups.

A group of 15 Indian startup founders, including Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma and others, held a virtual meeting with CCI (The Competition Commission of India) against Google's monopoly in the app ecosystem.

The issue raised when Google made changes to its play store billing system, rolled-out a 30% commission charge on the app purchases from the play store.

The founders said the majority of the phones come with the Google-owned Android operating system and are pre-loaded with the Google and play store distribution applications, giving a built-in advantage over its competitors.

Also Read: After Paytm, Google Sends Notice To Zomato And Swiggy For Violating Play Store Guidelines

According to the ET report, Startup founders such as Paytm's Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Map My India's Rakesh Verma, nCore Games Ganesh Hande, Truly Madly's Sachin Bhatia, and others were present in the virtual meeting.

“With more than 95% of India’s digital population accessing the Internet through Google, this strategy of having an operating system and Play Store, together gives Google an extreme advantage over other app stores and operating systems. Hence, we have requested them to look into this matter," said one of the founders in the meeting.

According to the reports, The startup founders are now planning to send a written letter to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, as well as CCI (Competition Commission of India) to prevent future issues.

In September 2020, Google removed Paytm from the Play Store alleged that Paytm partnership with Dream11 is against Google play store policies, as it does not allow online casinos or support gambling apps that facilitate sports betting.

While the company hasn't rolled back the 30% commission charge policy, the company said, startups and developers have six months than global to comply with the policy.

Earlier this month, Google sent a legal notice to Zomato and Swiggy for violating play store policies.

Since the clash between the Indian startups and Google, The founders were in talks to launch India's own app store, Atmanirbhar App Store, to support startups and local developers.

Earlier this week, Paytm launched its Paytm Mini App Store to support Indian developers and startups.

"We are announcing a Rs 10 crore investment fund for mini-app developers in this country. This means people who want to build mini-apps on our platform will now have an equity investment. And these investment terms will be one of the most lenient investment terms you can expect,” said, Paytm, Founder & CEO, Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

Since June 2020, The CCI (The Competition Commission of India) has been inspecting into the allegations against Google that the company engages in anti-competitive practices by creating barriers for firms wanting to use or develop modified versions of Android televisions.

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with inputs from mint.