People Group CEO Anupam Mittal Accuses Google of Acting Like ‘Digital East India Company’
- ByStartupStory | April 21, 2023
Anupam Mittal, CEO of People Group, has referred to Google as the “Digital East India Company” amid the legal battle over its new user choice billing system. Mittal accused Google of violating antitrust directives issued by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in October 2022, adding that Google’s new payment rules disregard Indian laws. Mittal compared the commission charged by Google to the tax paid by Indian farmers during the colonial era. He urged the media, courts, and Prime Minister’s Office to take notice of the issue.
Anupam Mittal, the CEO and founder of People Group, revealed that Google representatives warned his company to comply with the new payment policy by April 26 or else its apps would be removed from the Play Store. People Group owns several companies, including Shaadi.com, Makaan, and Mauj. Mittal stated that complying with the new billing policy would be illegal and responded to a query about his company’s compliance if there is no favourable verdict from the Delhi High Court, which is hearing ADIF’s appeal against the new user choice billing system.
Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of People Group, has stated that his company will not easily give up the fight against Google’s new user choice billing system, which he believes violates the law. Mittal claimed that complying with the new billing policy would be illegal and that Google is trying to take advantage of the lack of quorum at the Competition Commission of India to make its case stronger. Mittal likened Google’s actions to that of a colonial overlord and stated that his company will continue to fight against the policy.
Anupam Mittal, CEO of People Group, stated that the company is taking its own steps to escalate the matter to higher authorities and push it in the right direction. He expressed confidence in the country’s institutions, stating that the law will take its course in due time. This comes before the April 26 deadline for implementing the user choice billing system, which is centered around Google’s controversial payment mandates. These mandates will charge developers commissions ranging from 11% to 26%, and allow startups to integrate third-party payment processors for online transactions.
Google introduced new norms earlier this year to comply with the antitrust directives of the CCI issued in October 2022, which found Google guilty of abusing its dominance in the Android devices market and with regards to its Play Store policies. The new user choice billing system was a result of those reforms. However, policy think tank ADIF, supported by Indian startups such as Mapmyindia, Paytm and People Group rival Matrimony, filed a plea before the Delhi High Court earlier this month to keep the new policy in abeyance until the watchdog completes a full-fledged probe into a separate complaint filed by the CCI alleging flouting of antitrust norms.
The Delhi High Court heard a plea from policy think tank ADIF seeking to suspend Google’s new user choice billing system until a full-fledged probe is completed by the CCI into a separate complaint alleging antitrust violations. ADIF also sought the invocation of the ‘directive of necessity’ to deal with the case. The plea claimed that the new billing system is a disguised version of the previous one and an attempt to bypass the CCI’s antitrust directives, while leaving the marketplace vulnerable to Google’s dominant position. The judgement is expected soon, and could decide a crucial battleground for Indian startups, setting a major precedent in their fight against Google’s monopoly.
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