In a response to the lawsuit, Match claims that Google is seeking to wield its “monopolistic” power to scare app developers from challenging the data giant.
Google has filed a counter-lawsuit against the Match Group, seeking to permanently remove the popular dating and hook-up app from its Play Store.
According to Business Insider, Match Group owns Tinder along with several other online dating applications, including OkCupid and Hinge.
Now, Google claims that Match is “attempting to gain an unfair advantage over app developers” by paying nothing to continue listing its applications in the Google Play Store.
Bloomberg reports that Google typically charges app developers a 15% fee on and after their first $1 million in revenue earned by U.S.-based developers.
However, the Match Group is now asking that it be allowed to continue offering its applications without paying the Play Store’s standard fees. Doing so, Google claims, would “place Match Group in an advantaged position relative to other app developers who honor their agreements and compensate Google in good faith for the benefits they receive.”
Google Play, adds Business Insider, is the online store where most Android users download and purchase mobile phone applications.
Google is seeking monetary damages from the Match Group, and a court judgment that would allow Google to permanently remove the Match Group from its Play Store.
However, the Match Group had earlier filed its own lawsuit against Google, claiming that the data giant’s policies are anticompetitive and violate federal and state-level laws.
Google’s counter-lawsuit, Match says, is an example of a massive, unchecked monopoly attempting to leverage its near-unlimited financial resources to scare developers into following corporate policies without question.
“This countersuit is a prime example of a monopoly using its power to frighten other developers into submission,” Match said.
“Google doesn’t want anyone else to sue them so their counterclaims are designed as a warning shot,” the Match Group said in a statement. “We are confident that our suit, alongside other developers, the U.S. Department of Justice and 37 state attorneys general making similar claims, will be resolved in our favor early next year.”
Business Insider notes that the Match Group is far from the only company to have filed a claim against Google’s Play Store-use policies.
Several other mobile application developers, including Spotify and Fortnite creator Epic Games, have also alleged that both Google’s Play Store and the Apple App Store are effectively monopolies.
Both Google and Apple demand commissions ranging between 15 and 30% for any and all in-app transactions.
Google does, however, allow users to circumvent its Play Store and download applications directly through a practice sometimes referred to as “sideloading.”
Apple, in contrast, requires that applications be downloaded only from and through its App Store.
In response to Match’s claims, Google said Match is trying to backtrack the terms of an agreement it already consented to.
“Match Group entered into a contract with us and this suit seeks to hold Match to its end of the agreement,” Google said. “We’re looking forward to making our case.”
“Meanwhile,” Google said, “we will continue to defend ourselves against Match’s baseless claims.”
Sources
Google Countersues Dating App Match Group in Fight Over Play Store Policies
Google files a lawsuit that could kick Tinder out of the Play Store
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