Accused Of Violating Antitrust Law 36 US And DC States Sue Google, How Is The Case In Indonesia?

A number of lawsuits have to be faced by Google with state governments in the US. (photo credit: Greg Bulla/unsplash)

Jakarta - Attorney generals from 36 states in the US and the District of Columbia on Wednesday & July filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Google. The bipartisan lawsuit repeats a similar case filed by Fortnite maker Epic Games against the August 2020 search engine giant, challenging additional fees from Google on apps that use its Google Play Store.

The lawsuit alleges that Google's plan to charge for Play-Store violates anti-trust laws, harming consumers in the state. Google has previously announced its plans to force all app developers using the Google Play Store to pay a 30 percent commission on the sale of digital goods or services, starting September 2021.

Epic Games challenged a similar policy last August. Judge James Donato, Obama's nominee who will hear the state's lawsuit, has scheduled a trial in Epic's lawsuit for April 2022.

The Pay-to-Play Store is the default app store on Google's Android phones, though Android users can also download apps from stores operated by companies like Amazon and Samsung. Even users can install it directly from other sources. Apple, on the other hand, only allows iPhone users to download phones from Apple's App Store.

Google has long required app developers to use its payment system for purchases made through the Play Store. Last year, the company announced it would enforce the rules in September 2021.

Companies like Netflix, Spotify, and Match Group, which ignore the surcharge, have complained about it. While Google tried to quell their disappointment by lowering the commission to 15 percent on the sale of the first 1 million dollars. Developers of video, audio, and e-book services also only need to pay 15 percent.

Google defended at a Senate commission hearing in April 2021, claiming that “others” in the industry were charging the same price. Google insists that the commission pull is also meant to help fund developer tools and updates to the Android ecosystem.

"If developers feel that Google Play's value proposition is inadequate, they can distribute their apps in a number of other ways," said Wilson White, Google's lead public policy for Android and Google Play, at the time.

Jessica Melugin, director of the Center for Technology at the free-market Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), finds the case somewhat less interesting.

"The country's case against Google is about app developers, who likely wouldn't have mass distribution or profit without the wide distribution advantages of the Play Store, wanting to change the rules," said Melugin.

“Not only are there alternatives to downloading these apps on Android devices, but consumers benefit from the security, privacy and convenience of a centralized payment system. US antitrust laws should protect consumers, not renegotiate private business arrangements through government interference," said Melugin.

Google is also facing other lawsuits. In October 2020, the Department of Justice and 14 states sued Google over the company's attempts to dominate the mobile search market.

Thirty-eight states and territories also filed search-related lawsuits in December 2020. Fifteen states and territories also sued the company over its advertising technology.

In Indonesia, such problems have not yet arisen. The problems faced by Google in Indonesia are mostly tax issues.

The Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani Indrawati once said that the government would still be firm on Google's tax compliance matters. Although he did not deny that Google provides economic value for Indonesia.

Sri admitted that until now his party is still discussing with Google. From the government side, there are estimated figures related to the value of taxes owed by Google so far.

The data collected by the government comes from the Directorate General of Taxes (Directorate General of Taxes) of the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu) which has a record of the volume and value of transactions carried out by Google in Indonesia. Only, Sri understands when Google has its own calculations for their business operations so far.