Indonesia fines Google $12.37 million, here’s why

Indonesia's antitrust agency has announced that Google has been ordered to pay a fine of 202 billion rupiah ($12.37 million) for engaging in unfair business practices through its payment system services on the Google Play Store.

According to a report by news agency Reuters, the investigation, launched in 2022, examined allegations that Google had abused its dominant market position by requiring Indonesian app developers to use Google Pay Billing.

This system allegedly charged higher rates than other available payment options, with developers facing removal from the Play Store if they did not comply.

Google has previously defended its practices, stating that it had implemented a system allowing developers to offer users an alternative billing option. However, the Indonesian regulator determined that the company's actions amounted to anticompetitive behavior, leading to the significant penalty.

Previous fines on Google

Google has faced multiple fines, including a €2.4 billion fine from India, the European Union and a large fine from Russia.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined Google Rs 1,337.76 crore for anti-competitive practices related to Android devices. The CCI imposed the penalty on October 20, 2022. Google paid the entire penalty. The CCI also imposed a penalty of Rs 936.44 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies.

In 2017, Google was fined 2.4 billion pounds (about Rs 26,172 crore) for abusing its market dominance by unfairly penalising a price comparison website, Foundem. Google was also ordered to pay to a UK couple named Shivaun and Adam Raff. The couple won a 15-year legal battle after Google pushed their price comparison website Foundem down in search results.

Russia fined Google a large sum that's been described as “more than Earth's entire wealth”, acknowledging the fine’s symbolic significance.
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