On Friday a media report revealed a disclosed document featuring Google’s confidential deal with Netflix, a document which unveiled market monopolization strategies by the search engine giant, while on the other hand it allowed Netflix the leverage to keep using Android-based subscription with a lower cut than Apple’s App Store.
Various antitrust lawsuits were filed against Google and its Play Store’s commission, by a number of state attorneys, mirroring the Epic vs. Apple monopoly battle.
Lawyers representing consumers had submitted a complaint that had enumerated Google’s indulgence in in-app store anti-competitive and monopolistic behavior.
MLex is an independent media establishment that delivers private market insight, analysis, and interpretation on regulatory risks, had its senior correspondent, Michael Action open the lid to the complaints on Friday.
Some of the complaints filed by consumers in the suit according to Michaeal Acton is that:
– Google offered @netflix special deal to stop them griping about 30% fee
– Google estimated @SamsungUS made $0.1 bn from store in 2019 compared to Google’s $4bn
Subscription -based platforms, such asSpotify, Tinder, and Netflix, had in the past struggled to go about the right way in managing the Google Play Billing, a move to bypass the 30 percent commission imposed by the Big Tech giant.
According to the document: “Similarly, Netflix, Spotify, and Tinder some of the nation’s largest and most popular subscription services, have repeatedly sought to bypass Google Play Billing. In particular, Netflix wanted an alternative payment system”.
“Apparently to ameliorate this displeasure, Google offered to take a significantly reduced revenue share percentage to Netflix. Not all developers, however, have met with Netflix’s success, even though many have sought to use their payment systems,” the document added.
Google yielded to regulatory demands by announcing that it will limit its Play Store’s commission will be cut from 30 percent to 15 percent, covering all global android developers, in March.
This week a clarification post was released by the social network, on its android developers’ blog, affirming that the company is on a path to listen to its developers opinions on ways to to enhance Google Play features.
In the body of the post, it was explicitly specified that Play Store applications have to rely on Google’s billing system with the timeframe of a change.
“We’ve always required developers who distribute their apps on Play Store to use Google Play’s billing system if they offer in-app purchases of digital goods, and pay a service fee from a percentage of the purchase. This policy is only applicable to less than 3 percent of developers with apps on Google Play”, part of the post revealed.
“We only collect a service fee if the developer charges users to download their app or they sell in-app digital terms, and we that is fair. Not only does this approach allow us to continuously reinvest in the platform, but this business model also aligns our success directly with the success of developers”, the post added.
In the case of Netflix, lawyers accused Google of giving Netflix a ‘significantly reduced revenue share’, an implication that Google wants to overtake the streaming platform’s plans to implement substitute payment methods and systems. This connotes that by imposing unfair policies, Google is directly monopolizing the market for its own benefit, in a move to maintain its position on top of the market pyramid.
In 2019, Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. generated $11.2 billion in revenue, purely from its cellular app retail, an unsealed court document revealed on Saturday.
A lawsuit concerning suspected antitrust breaches, demonstrating how in 2019, the establishment accumulated $8. 5 billion in gross revenue and $7 billion in working revenue, with a working margin over 62 percent, was filed against Google by Attorneys from 37 U. S. states and districts.
The spiraled sums can be traced to an expediential apps’ sale, in-app buy purchase, and retail adverts, with Google on its part seen trying to assert a strong base for itself by stating that its Play app teams’ income were generated from multitude of providers, alongside accounts resulting in the shop’s blazing income.
The lawsuits against Google keeps accumulating as documents have began to expose the search engine company to bigger scrutiny, as a result of its terms and policies with developers. Google’s 30 percent commission has largely been seen as a questionable measure to gain financial support via Google’s Play Store.
The outcome of the legal tussle will determine the sole beneficiary of the claims as each side insist on its claims.
Ayoola Faseyi, an Abuja based Journalist with interest in Technology and Politics. He is a versatile writer with articles in many renowned News Journals. He is the Co-Founder of media brand, The Vent Republic.
