Dating App Match Sues Google Over Play Store Fees

Dating apps maker Match sued Google on Monday, calling the action a “last resort” to prevent Tinder and its other apps from being booted off the Play store for refusing to share up to 30% of their sales.

Match’s lawsuit is the latest to target Google’s allegedly anticompetitive conduct with the Play store, joining ongoing cases brought by “Fortnite” maker Epic Games, dozens of US state attorneys general and others.

Google did immediately respond to a request for comment on the new filing. But it has said that developers have the option to bypass the Play store and that it has lowered fees and created other programs to address antitrust concerns.

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets announced a preliminary investigation into Alphabet’s Google last week, over possible anti-competitive practices in its Play store. Match group had asked the regulator to assess whether Google is abusing a dominant position in the dating app market.

Google’s Play store policies have been questioned before, with a group of 36 US states and the District of Columbia suing the company last year over claims that its mobile app store abuses its market power and forces aggressive terms on software developers

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