Google wants to kick Tinder-owner Match Group out of its Play Store for good
- Google is countersuing Match Group, asking for a judgment to kick the online-dating platform off of its Play Store.
- Match Group initially sued Google in May, alleging that its Google Play Store is a monopoly.
Google wants online dating site Match Group out of its Play Store for good.
The search-engine giant is countersuing Match, which owns a number of online dating platforms including Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge, alleging that Match is attempting to "gain unfair advantage over other app developers" and pay nothing to use the Google Play Store, according to the filing.
Google Play is an online store where most Android users download and purchase apps, games, and additional digital content.
Google is seeking monetary damages from Match Group, and a judgment that would allow Google to kick Match Group out of its Play Store permanently, according to Bloomberg.
Google's lawsuit comes just two months after Match Group filed its own lawsuit against Google, accusing its Play Store of acting as a monopoly for taking a percentage of in-app purchases.
Match Group's lawsuit seeks to exempt the app from a new Google rule that requires apps to exclusively use Google's in-app payment processing, calling the fees "exorbitant."
Match Group is one of several mobile applications, including Spotify and 'Fortnite'-parent Epic Games, that have alleged that Google's Play Store and Apple's app store are monopolies. Both Google and Apple take between a 15% and 30% cut from developers when users make in-app purchases from an Android or iPhone.
In a statement to Insider, Match said, "This countersuit is a prime example of a monopoly using its power to frighten other developers into submission. Google doesn't want anyone else to sue them so their counterclaims are designed as a warning shot. But, the primary issue is that Google's Play Store policies are anticompetitive and in violation of federal and state law. We are confident that our suit, alongside other developers, the US Department of Justice and 37 State Attorneys General making similar claims, will be resolved in our favor early next year."
Google does allow users to circumvent its Play Store and download applications in a practice called "sideloading," but Apple requires apps to exclusively use its app store.
Google's countersuit pushes back on the charge by Match Group. In a statement to Insider, a Google spokesperson said, "Match Group entered into a contract with us and this suit seeks to hold Match to its end of the agreement – we're looking forward to making our case. Meanwhile, we will continue to defend ourselves against Match's baseless claims."