Indonesia: KPPU announced investigation into Google over alleged abuse of dominant market position

On 16 September 2022, the Indonesia Competition Commission (ICC/KPPU) announced an investigation into Google and its subsidiaries to determine if the company violated Law No. 5/1999 on the Prohibition of Monopolistic Practices by requiring the use of Google Pay Billing (GPB) in certain applications. The investigation is based on the ICC/KPPU's suspicion that Google has abused its dominant position, and engaged in conditional sales (tying) and discriminatory practices. According to the ICC/KPPU's research, following the launch of Google’s GPB policy on 1 June 2022, third app developers were forced to use the payment system for in-app purchases, with Google charing a 15-30% service fee per puchase. Further, the ICC/KPPU suspects that Google tied together two business models by forcing app developers to purchase its app store and payment services as a bundle. Finally, Google is suspected of discriminating between payment service providers regarding in-app purchases. The evidence-gathering phase of the investigation will last sixty working days.