NEW DELHI :
The Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a representative body of startups, has urged Google to extend the 31 March deadline for its Play Store billing policies. The Android maker had earlier said it would start enforcing its Play Store billing policy on developers globally from March-end though it has extended the same deadline for Indian developers by seven months till 31 October.
Google said late Wednesday it is starting a pilot programme with a select group of developers including music streaming firm Spotify, under which it will test “user choice billing”. Both Google and Apple have been under fire over the past year for forcing developers to use their built-in payments systems for selling apps and digital content via the Play Store.
Sijo Kuruvilla, executive director of ADIF, said the new programme is “an arrogant attempt at headline management and a blatant disregard for the concerns” raised by developers and companies around the world. “The fact of the matter remains that this announcement does nothing to address the underlying issues and concerns: the anti-competitive nature of the policy or the impending 31 March deadline for enforcing this policy,” he said.
ADIF also criticized Google for making the announcement a week before the 31 March deadline.
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