Google threatens to suspend applications from 10 companies in India for non-payment

The technology giant Google threatened this Friday to take action against ten Indian companies for non-payment of the service fee of its store Google Playin the middle of a court battle that could upend the financial dynamics of digital payment services.

“Over an extended period, 10 companies, including many well-established ones, have chosen not to pay the immense value they receive on Google Play by obtaining interim protections from the courts”indicated the technological platform in an extensive writing published today on its blog.

Without revealing the names of the companies, Google assured that these same developers who refuse payments do “they comply with the payment policies of other app stores” on Android platforms.

Now “We are taking the necessary steps to ensure that our policies are applied consistently throughout the ecosystem,” he assured.

The measures to which Google refers, which will be applied “when necessary”, include the “removing applications from Google Play” until the developers get ready again by accepting a form of payment and billing.

Another alternative contemplates that these applications work only for free, even if their services are paid, to allow users who have acquired the service outside the Google ecosystem to continue accessing the apps.

Last year, several Indian companies began a legal battle before the Asian country’s courts, denouncing the fee that Google imposes on developers to market their applications in the Google Play store, considering the charges as “exploiters”.

Although the case will be formally heard by the Indian Supreme Court on March 19, the high court has refused to grant further temporary relief to the companies.

“No court or regulator has denied Google Play’s right to charge for the value and services we provide,” Google said today in its statement in which it described as unfair “allowing this small group of developers to receive differential treatment from the vast majority of developers who pay their fair share.”

The decision of the highest court of justice could set a great precedent for the economics of digital infrastructure if it decided to support the developers’ claim.