The Madras High Court in the case Matrimony.Com Ltd v Alphabet Inc and others (and the connected cases) observed and has dismissed the majority of pleas moved by the Indian startups against the Google’s new user choice billing system.
The court dismissed the total of 14 out of 16 petitions.
Therefore, the remaining two pleas filed by Disney+Hotstar and Testbook are pending before the court.
The bench headed by Justice S Sounthar in the case observed and has stated that when the matter falls on August 03, 2023 within the jurisdiction of the Competition Commission of India and that the remedy which is available under the Competition Act is much more comprehensive than that which is being available before a civil court.
Adding to it, the court stated that the pleas filed are being barred under Section 61 of the Competition Act which expressly forbids civil courts from hearing any lawsuit or action that the Commission is authorised to decide.
However, the court rejected the application moved by Google to reject the plaint and its contribution that the applications should be filed in California, where the company has its headquarters.
It has also been raised by the said court that if these contentions are accepted, the Competition Act, which was enacted to prevent practices affecting competition, will be of no use.
It has also been argued before the court that in the year 2020, the Google made the use of Google Play Billing System, GPBS mandatary and exclusive for processing payments for downloading paid apps and the In-App Purchases.
Further, it has been submitted before the court that the Competition Commission of India, CCI in its order dated 25.10.2022 directed the Google not to restrict the app developers from using any third-party billing/payment processing services.
Before the court, it was also submitted that after the CCI order, Google in an attempt to circumvent the order, permitted the app developers in order to use alternate billing option or User Choice Billing alongside and in addition to the GPBS.
The court observed that the Companies added that Google has been trying to take advantage of its monopoly in the Android platform and has compelled the app developers to agree to their payment policy by charging of the service fees at the rate of 11% and 26% in respect of payments made through the Alternate Billing System.
The court while considering the facts and circumstances of the case observed and has granted interim relief to Matrimony.com by ordering Google not to remove or delist its app from Google’s play store.