The parent company of dating websites has sued. Match Group has filed a complaint with a federal court in California, accusing the tech giant of breaking antitrust laws with its Play Store guidelines.
The policy that will be implemented later this year is the subject of the lawsuit. In the fall of 2020, the company clarified its stance on in-app purchases, announcing it would eventually require all developers to process payments through the Play Store. The deadline to enforce the policy was extended to June 1st, 2022.
Match claims that the company could use its own payments systems. The company claims that if it doesn't comply with the upcoming policy change by June 1st, it will be removed from the Play Store. Match claims that Google has begun rejecting app updates that maintain the payment systems found in its dating services. The company says in its complaint that we are now its hostage.
Match CEO Shar Dubey said in a statement that the lawsuit was a measure of last resort.
Match is eligible to pay a 15 percent commission on in-app purchases, a rate the company noted is the lowest among major app platforms.
The lawsuit comes at a time when Apple and Google are under fire from regulators around the world for their app store policies. The Open App Markets Act was advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The legislation would prevent both companies from locking third-party developers into their payment systems.
In March, it was announced that the two companies were testing third-party billing systems. Match said that the pilot offers nothing new for developers or users and that it wouldn't share the criteria for inclusion.
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