NEW DELHI : Changes made by Google in its policy to comply with directives of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) have received mixed reactions. While its supporters have hailed the changes as an “unprecedented" step and a “global precedent", Google’s critics have termed it as a “half move" and believe that the search giant should clarify its stance on items, including the rate of commission and fees.
In a blog post on Wednesday, Google detailed its efforts to comply with CCI’s recent orders on how app installations and billings are undertaken on Android devices. The changes include enabling phone makers the ability to choose individual Google apps to pre-install on their phones, and not making it compulsorily for them to offer all Google services. Other steps include allowing users in India to choose their preferred search engine, announcing compatibility for ‘forked’ (or modified) operating systems based on the Android platform, and offering third-party billing services for any paid apps and in-app products and services on the Google Play Store platform.
“It’s important to note that Google has not clarified what commissions it would continue to charge, even as it opens up third-party payment instruments for user-choice billing. The bigger issue here was Google charging a hefty fee from third-party payment services too, which is what would affect developers the most," said Rameesh Kailasam, president and chief executive of industry body, IndiaTech.org. He said the policy update would need “further clarification in order to demonstrate true democratization of alternate access.
