Google Countersues Dating App Match Group in Fight Over Play Store Policies
Google has filed a lawsuit against Match Group, the developer of apps like Tinder and PlentyOfFish. The suit alleges that Match Group is violating Google’s Play Store policies by selling third-party apps that violate the company’s requirement for developers to follow the same guidelines as its apps.
Google has filed a lawsuit against the dating app Match Group,
Google has filed a lawsuit against MatchGroup, the parent company of Dating Apps Tinder and Match.com. The lawsuit claims that Match Group’s sale of third-party apps on its website violates Google Play Store policies and should be blocked by the court.
Google is asking for unspecified damages and an order from the court to bar Match Group from selling third-party apps on its site.
the Google Play Store’s policies by selling third-party apps that violate the company’s
The Google Play Store is one of the most popular app stores on the planet. It’s also a lucrative source of revenue for developers, who can sell their apps in it. But at the same time, Google has strict rules about what apps can be sold in its store—which MatchGroup seems to ignore.
Match Group offers third-party dating apps such as Tinder, OkCupid, and PlentyOfFish through its portfolio of brands like PlentyOfFish and Match.com, as well as its other properties, Meetic and Matchopolis (US). These are all run by different companies, but they use Match’s technology and services behind the scenes to operate their business models.
Accordingly, it would seem that these companies should follow Google’s policies just like any other developer who wants their product featured on Android devices with access to millions upon millions of users through the Play Store marketplace — but this doesn’t seem to be happening either.
Requirement for developers to follow the same guidelines as their apps.
Google’s lawsuit against MatchGroup is based on violations of Google Play Store policies. The search giant alleges that MatchGroup’s mobile dating apps are in breach of three fundamental rules:
- Developers must follow the same guidelines as their apps regarding advertising, data collection and sharing, and security measures.
- Apps can’t use Google accounts for authentication or processing payment information without consent from users (Match Group uses this method for Tinder Gold).
- Developers can’t sell third-party apps through their stores without permission from Google (Match Group does this with Tinder Select).
The suit asks for unspecified damages and a judge to block Match Group from selling third-party apps.
The suit asks for unspecified damages and a judge to block MatchGroup from selling third-party apps. Google is also asking for a judge to stop Match Group from selling third-party apps for some time.
According to the lawsuit, Google says that Match Group has violated its Play Store policies by creating more than 200 apps that violate those policies with their use of Google APIs.
Match Group views Google’s lawsuit as “nothing more than a PR stunt” and plans to fight back.
Match Group views Google’s lawsuit as “nothing more than a PR stunt” and plans to fight back. The company said it would continue to sell third-party apps on its app store.
Google’s lawsuit alleges that Match Group violated the terms of its contract with Google when it started selling apps through its app store without first getting permission from Google. It also claims that Match Group is making unauthorized revenue by selling subscriptions for dating sites like Tinder and OkCupid on Android phones without including any ads.
Google has filed suit against Match Group, and the case probably won’t be resolved soon.
Google’s suit against them is an attempt to hold the dating app developer accountable for selling apps that violate Google Play Store policies.
Google filed the suit after MatchGroup launched a $1 billion lawsuit against it, claiming that it intentionally devalued Tinder and its other dating apps by restricting access to users who were on Android devices. The tech giant stated that it views Match Group’s lawsuit as “nothing more than a PR stunt” and plans to fight back by filing suit against them.
Conclusion
Google is fighting for its right to remain in the Android app marketplace. The company has filed a countersuit against the dating app Match Group Inc., which filed a lawsuit against Google earlier this year alleging that the tech giant violated antitrust law by allegedly giving preferential treatment to its apps over those of competitors.
Google has now hit back at Match, accusing it of trying to create a monopoly by abusing antitrust laws. Google argues that Match Group’s lawsuit is an attempt to “consolidate control over online dating services under its own corporate umbrella,” according to Bloomberg News.
Match Group owns more than 50% of the market share in online dating apps and websites like Tinder, OkCupid, and PlentyOfFish, according to Statista data cited by Bloomberg News. In February, it sued Google for allegedly breaking antitrust laws by not allowing other companies access to its Android Market platform unless they comply with requirements such as having their app pre-installed on every phone sold in Europe (and planning similar requirements for Asia). As part of this suit, they also accused Google of blocking new features from existing users because those features would compete with existing products owned by Alphabet Inc., which owns both companies, told Bloomberg News at the time.”
