Match Group Drops Restraining Order Against Google

Dating apps maker Match Group on Friday (May 20) withdrew its request for a temporary restraining order against Google after the search engine agreed to allow alternative payments and scaled back its push for control of all user data, according to a company press release.

As part of the restraining order recall, Google cannot reject or remove Match Group apps from the Google Play Store because they offer alternatives to Google Play Billing. Google will also approve Match Group app updates that provide alternatives to Google Play Billing, the joint press release said.

Google will also work on what Match Group calls “deficiencies of Google Play Billing,” allowing Match Group apps that currently do not offer Google Play Billing to test Google’s system on their platforms, alongside current payment systems.

Match Group will deposit up to $40 million into an escrow account instead of paying Google directly for billing transactions on Android outside of Google Play Billing as part of the agreement.

“Match Group maintains that the fees Google is demanding for payments outside of Google Play Billing are illegal under federal and state law,” according to the release. “No other app or product in Google Play currently pays Google for transactions outside of Google Play Billing.

“But, because of Google’s complete monopoly control over the Android app distribution ecosystem, Match Group has agreed to hold funds in escrow and maintain the status quo of Match Group apps in the Google Play Store, until the Court hears and adjudicates the claims filed against Google on May 9 for violating federal and California antitrust laws,” Match said in the release.

Match Group and Google each can terminate their agreement and Match Group can reinstate its request for a temporary restraining order if the deal falls apart. The trial on this matter is set for April 2023.

Related: Tinder Owner Sues Google Over Play Store Fees

Earlier this month, Match Group sued Google to stop Tinder and its other apps from being booted off the Play Store because Match had refused to share up to 30% of its sales. Some of Match’s apps have been exempted from Google policies in the past.