In response to Google's recent decision to delist certain Indian apps from the Play Store, Anupam Mittal, the founder and CEO of People Group's Shaadi.com, expressed his concerns on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
In his post, he wrote, "Today is a dark day for India Internet. Google has delisted major apps from its app store even though legal hearings are underway at @CCI_India & @indSupremeCourt. Their false narratives & audacity show they have little regard for 🇮🇳. Make no mistake - this is the new Digital East India Co, and this #Lagaan must be stopped! Pls RT and #SaveOurStartups."
He added a further comment to his post with the hashtag "#EvilGoogle."
Netizens' Reaction to Mittal post
A user named Mahish Ranjan commented on Mittal's post, stating, "All companies have got 3 years of advance notice from Google. Yet they didn't comply. This is no free market; that's a platform which Google has built to make money. You folks behave on the internet that nobody knows anything about the case."
Another user, Utkarsh, added, "This victim attitude is just awful!! They were given 3 years notice in advance."
"Till when will you keep crying like a startup? When 2 lakh companies can comply, then why can’t you? Google had said that 10 developers were not complying with its policies and that over 200,000 Indian developers were complying with their payments policy. And your company is one of those that earns more money than the number of people it really connects! A lot of frauds are there, and there is no proper scrutiny," Pawan Yadav, an X user commented on Mittal's post.
The response from netizens to Mittal's post showcased a mixed sentiment, with some expressing support for Google's action, arguing that these companies had sufficient time and shouldn't play the victim card.
On the other hand, some users backed Mittal and advocated for the creation of an Indian-owned App Store, suggesting alternatives like the Indus App Store.
Reason behind Google's recent action
Google decided to remove these apps due to a dispute over service fee payments, with the tech giant demanding charges between 11 per cent and 26 per cent on in-app transactions. Certain Indian startups resisted this fee structure based on directives from antitrust authorities to amend the previous system, which imposed charges ranging from 15 to 30 per cent. Despite recent court rulings, including an unfavorable Supreme Court decision, Google maintains its position on fee collection or potential app removal.
