Google Suspends Blocking Tinder Pending Another Play Billing Lawsuit

Tough in-app billing measures on Google Play are certainly causing a lot of conflict with the biggest Android app developers. Google recently decided to enforce a longstanding Play Store rule requiring Google Play to be the sole provider of in-app purchases for apps downloaded from the Play Store, preventing developers from using their own payment solutions.

The latest major developer unhappy with Google’s new policy is Match Group, owner of Tinder and several other dating apps. Match sued Google on May 9 for “strategic market manipulation, breach of promise, and abuse of power by requiring Match Group to use Google’s billing system to stay on the Google Play Store.”On Friday, the two companies reached an agreement not to restrict Match Group’s access to the Play Store until the lawsuit is over.

Both companies issued conflicting press releases describing the situation in very different ways. The Match blog post is titled “Google acknowledges key Google Play policy issues”, while Google has a more strict title: “Facts about Match Group Interim Agreement”.

Match says that “Google has made various concessions demanded by the Match Group in the interest of consumers. These include ensuring that Match Group apps continue to be allowed to offer users choices in payment systems, reducing the undue burden on developers in line with previously stated policies, and removing Google. full control over user data.

Google says that this agreement was “at the request of the court”and that it is “a temporary agreement while the case is being heard and we are preparing the planned counterclaim.”In one place, Google even uses the word “temporary”in bold. Google’s press release cited Match’s press release as saying “Match Group ignored the terms it agreed to in court with a misleading press release that misrepresents what happened during the trial.”

Both companies say that Match Group will continue to process payments outside of Google Play and that “up to $40 million”of that money will be transferred to an escrow account. Google states that this account represents “a service fee that [Match Group] owes us”, while Match states that “the fee Google requires for payments outside of Google Play Billing is illegal under federal law.”state and law.”The two troubled companies will need to resolve their differences in court, and trial is currently scheduled for April 2023.

Match has a lawsuit website called EndtheGoogleTax.com , which describes the issues it is having with Google Play billing. In part, Match says that Google doesn’t support features it wants, such as not offering bundles or paying for subscriptions in installments, and limits its ability to make special offers. It says that customer service is “inferior”because Google puts itself between Match and the customer, and even slaps Google on the privacy side by saying, “Match Group brands don’t sell users’ personal data. Google’s business, however, is built around selling user data.”

Google’s in-app billing policy technically went into effect on March 31st, and non-compliant apps can no longer send updates. The real deadline is June 1st (next week!) when incompatible apps will be removed from the Play Store. As Google’s deadline for in-app billing compliance approaches, lawsuits and backroom deals are flying.

On top of this latest lawsuit with Match, Google has struck a deal with Spotify that effectively waives it from the ruling through a closed “pilot”program called “customer-choice billing.”Meanwhile, Epic Games seems to be looking to disrupt the Google and Apple app store model; she bought Bandcamp and sued Google a month later, saying the company could not survive under Google’s rules. Amazon and Barnes and Noble have decided to completely remove in-app purchases from their Play apps.