Google Stumbles on Alleged Payment System Monopoly

The Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) investigates alleged monopoly and unfair business competition by Google and its subsidiaries in Indonesia. KPPU suspects that Google has abused its dominant position, conditional sales, and discriminatory or monopolistic practices in the distribution of digital apps in Indonesia. KPPU's Director of Economics Mulyawan Ranamanggalas said that research on this case had been ongoing for the past few months.

According to him, KPPU has conducted research initiatives related to Google. "The research is focused on Google's policy that requires the use of Google Pay Billing (GPB) in various apps," he said Thursday. The KPPU will run the investigation process for 60 working days to obtain sufficient evidence, clarity, and completeness of alleged violations of the law.

On Sept 2, Google announced that it would expand the choice of payment programs for the PlayStore to allow users to have an alternative payment system for in-system app purchases. This option will apply in some regions, including India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, and the European Union. The company is calling all non-gaming developers globally to apply for this program, and if they qualify, they can use third-party payment systems in the regions mentioned above. "Android has always been a uniquely open operating system. We continue to evolve our platform and increase the choices available to developers and users while maintaining our ability to invest in the ecosystem. We will be sharing more in the coming months as we continue to build and iterate with our pilot partners," a Google spokesperson said in a statement, as quoted by techcrunch.com.