Match Group Inc, Sues Google For Quoting 30 Percent Of Payments On Play Store

Dating app developer Tinder sues Google. (photo: doc. Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Dating app maker Match Group Inc sued Alphabet Inc's Google on Monday, May 9. They called the move their "last resort" to prevent Tinder and other apps from being booted from the Play store for refusing to share up to 30% of their sales.

Match's lawsuit follows an ongoing case that has also been sued by "Fortnite" game maker Epic Games, dozens of US state attorneys general and others targeting Google's alleged anti-competitive behavior with the Play store.

Google says Match is trying to avoid paying for the significant value they've received over the years.

"Like any business, we charge fees for our services, and like any responsible platform, we protect users from fraud," Google said. According to Google, the payment tool helps prevent fraud by app developers.

Match's lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, has accused Google of violating federal and state antitrust laws and seeking to prohibit the behavior.

It's worth noting that some Match apps have been exempt from Google's policies over the past decade or so. Now, Google says it will block downloads of the app by June 1 unless they offer only the payment and revenue-sharing systems provided by Google, the lawsuit says.

"This lawsuit is the final step," said Match Chief Executive Shar Dubey. "We tried, in good faith, to resolve this issue with Google, but their insistence and threats left us with no choice."

At stake for Match is what is described as hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue that must be paid to Google.

According to the lawsuit, the majority of users on Match's most popular app, Tinder, prefer its own payment system, which allows for installment plans, bank transfers, and other features not provided by Google in the past.

Google says that developers can bypass the Play Store and have lowered costs and created another program to address the issue.

While Dubey says using Play isn't really worth it. "It's like saying, 'You don't have to take an elevator to get to the 60th floor of a building, you can always climb the outer walls,'" he says.