Last week, Google seemed to have blinked first and made changes like allowing third-party billing systems like Razorpay in apps or choosing search engines like Bing by default for developers and users, while allowing a manufacturer like Xiaomi to choose which of its apps to offer in their devices. But while Google seems to have complied with India’s competition regulator CCI’s orders, one can ask whether it’s really only a half-measure, and how much this actually benefits the Indian business ecosystem. The video from our subscriber-only briefing call is available below, after the discussion points. What we discussed What led up to these changes, and global regulatory actions A timeline of CCI’s investigations and resulting updates by Google Google’s appeal: arguments and present status Regulatory actions on Google by other countries What were some of the pain points for app developers? High commissions (10-30 percent) and delayed payments Not allowed to use alternative billing systems, anti-steering policies (prevented from leading users outside the app to pay) Restrictions on third-party app stores and sideloading Self-preferencing Pre-installation of own apps Sherlocking: Google developing copycat apps off of those doing well on the Play Store The changes Google is making, and issues with its compliance Google allows third-party billing, Android forks, and no longer requires manufacturers to license its entire suite of apps What will be the impact and extent of each of these changes? Can the CCI rule on how much commission Google can charge? Issues with compliance include an undefined timeline,…
