In an attempt to settle the antitrust probe launched by UK's competition regulator in June 2022, Google on April 19 submitted a proposal outlining its plans to allow UK developers to choose between the following two alternative billing options: User Choice Billing: Under this option, developers will be able to add a third-party billing system alongside Google's billing system. While making any in-app purchase, users get to choose which option they want to go with. If the user chooses the third-party billing system, the commission the developer pays to Google is reduced by 4 percent. The User Choice Billing program is already available to developers in European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, India, Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan. Developer-Only Billing: Under this option, developers can choose to not offer Google Play billing at all and only offer a third-party billing system. The commission the developer pays to Google is reduced by 3 percent under this option. This is similar to the alternative billing option offered to non-gaming apps in the European Economic Area (EEA). If Google's proposal is accepted by UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the above two options will first be made available to all non-gaming apps, and then to all apps by October 2023, Google informed. Why does this matter: Google has offered variations of the above two billing options in over a dozen countries in an attempt to settle antitrust probes or preempt them, or satisfy regulations. In India, for example, Google is offering User Choice Billing to…
