Indonesia’s antitrust agency has fined Google approximately 202 billion rupiah ($12.4 million) for unfair business practices related to its payment system on the Google Play Store. The fine comes after an investigation that found the company had abused its dominant market position by requiring Indonesian app developers to use Google Play Billing, which charged higher fees than other payment systems, or face removal from the platform.
The investigation, which began in 2022, concluded that Google's practices reduced developers' earnings by limiting user access to their apps. According to the panel, the system also hindered competition, violating Indonesia's laws against monopolistic behavior. Google’s mandatory fee for using the Google Play Billing system was found to be as high as 30%.
Indonesia's antitrust agency highlighted that Google holds a 93% market share in the country’s rapidly growing digital economy, which serves a population of 280 million people.
A Google spokesperson said the company plans to appeal the ruling, maintaining that its practices support a healthy and competitive ecosystem for Indonesian app developers. The spokesperson also noted that Google is committed to complying with Indonesian law and that it has already introduced an alternative billing system for developers.
This fine is the latest in a series of antitrust penalties faced by Google. In the past decade, the company has been fined over 8 billion euros ($8.3 billion) by the European Union for anti-competitive practices related to its price comparison service, Android operating system, and advertising services.
Source: ET
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
