The Indian story is repeating now in South Korea. The latter
nation has launched an antitrust investigation into Google over its plans to
enforce commission fees for in-app purchases made through its mobile
application store.
Under the new policy set to take effect in October next year,
Google will take a 30 percent commission on all digital purchases by consumers.
South Korean app developers have voiced strong opposition
against the move, arguing that it could be in violation of local fair trade and
telecommunications laws, reports Yonhap news agency.
Joh Sung-wook, chairperson of the Korea Fair Trade
Commission (KFTC), told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit that Google's
plan is currently being reviewed.
"I believe that competition isn't working properly in
this industry," she said. "In order to restore competition, we are
currently investigating for anti-competitive actions."
Also Read: The Indian story is repeating now in South Korea. The latter nation has launched an antitrust investigation into Google over its plans to enforce commission fees for in-app purchases made through its mobile application store.
Google holds a tight grip over local app store sales, with a
63.4 percent share of the total last year at $5 billion, according to the Korea
Mobile Internet Business Association.
Han Sang-hyuk, head of the Korea Communications Commission,
echoed Joh's concerns, and called for inter-agency cooperation over the issue.
"We need to monitor the response from other countries
and also create a structure for cooperation between local agencies," Han
told lawmakers in a separate audit.
The country's telecommunications regulator is conducting a
separate investigation into Google over its in-app payment policy.
Google has argued that it is committed to an open system by
offering other app stores on its Android platform and that it will comply with
local laws.
In response to growing frustration, Google has established a
support fund worth $100 million for local app developers and users.
Amid growing scrutiny over Google's app store fees, local
rival One Store, under the country's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., said it
would exempt in-app payment fees by 50 percent for app developers with monthly
transactions of less than 5 million won until the end of next year.
In India, Google faced criticism from developers after it
announced its policy asking them to integrate with the Play Store billing
system.
However, Google said it has extended the time for developers
in India who use alternative payment system, to integrate with the Play Store
billing system till March 31, 2022.
Targeting Google's dominance in the app distribution space
in India, leading digital payments platform Paytm on Thursday said it is
setting up a Rs 10 crore fund as equity investments for mini app developers in
the country.
The move, announced at a mini apps developer conference,
comes after Paytm launched an Android Mini App Store earlier this week to
support local developers.
Paytm claimed that over 5,000 developers from across the
country expressed their interest in being a part of the Paytm Mini App
programme.
Several Indian entrepreneurs came out in support of Paytm's
initiative.
"Google's tax is like a distributor asking for 30 per
cent of the sales revenue as a cut. Today, we are all at the mercy of Google.
We don't know when they will remove the apps, based on some policy that they
decide," Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder & CEO, Matrimony.com, said in
a statement.