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Tackle the revadis from Google, Apple

Offers by tech behemoths Google and Apple to lower fees for a section of app developers that switch to rival payment systems minimises the hit on a significant chunk of their revenues as antitrust pressure mounts across the world. South Korea has banned the technology giants from forcing software developers to use their payments systems.


The EU is finalising the Digital Markets Act that could impose fines of up to 10% of the companies' global turnover if app developers are denied access to alternative payment mechanisms. In India, where Google has an overwhelming market share of the mobile operating system and, hence, the distribution platform for apps, the company's conduct has been investigated by the director general of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), and has been found leading to denial of market access.

Rather than enter protracted litigation across the world, Google and Apple have, therefore, offered app developers concessions. These sops, critics claim, preserve the bulk of the $133 billion they made from their app stores last year. The easier terms on offer are for the vast multitude of app developers that bring in a small proportion of the revenue, while the rest will continue to pay eye-watering commissions of up to 30%.

Google has lost the first round of appeals in two out of three antitrust cases in the EU involving over ₹8 billion in fines for anti-competitive behaviour involving online shopping search, the Android operating system, and its AdSense advertising service.

The concessions to app developers may not be enough in India, which has the world's third-largest startup ecosystem. The Indian digital marketplace has relatively lower revenue realisation across the spectrum of services offered.

Faced with a monopolistic distribution channel, the path to profit gets lengthier. For whatever it is worth, Indian startups are benefiting indirectly from oversight in other jurisdictions. They would not be amiss in expecting a more proactive stance from their own regulator.


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