Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal slams Google for ’arbitrary and monopolistic’ actions harming Indian startups

Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal lashed out at Google on Wednesday, August 21, alleging that the tech giant's 'arbitrary and monopolistic actions' are stifling Indian startups and harming the country's economy.

“Another one of countless examples of Google’s arbitrary and monopolistic actions that are impacting Indian startups and our economy’s future irreparably,” Mittal tweeted, tagging the Competition Commission of India (@CCI_India), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India), and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (@GoI_MeitY) in a call for intervention.

Mittal's post came in response to Aditi Shrivastava, another notable figure in the Indian startup ecosystem, who raised her concerns regarding Google's practices. Shrivastava questioned the lack of a clear escalation mechanism for apps that are blocked on the Google Play Store without any apparent reason.

“If Google has blocked an app on play store, without a reason… what is the escalation mechanism?," Shrivastava asked in a post on X.

Earlier in March this year, after facing Google's action over a fee payment dispute, Mittal compared the tech giant with the new ‘Digital East India Company’. Referring to the day when Google removed multiple Indian mobile apps from the Play Store as a ‘dark day,’ Mittal called for the urgent cessation of ‘Lagaan’ taken by Google in the name of service fee. The Alphabet-owned firm delisted a dozen applications, including Shaadi.com, Bharat Matrimony, etc., over a dispute on service fee payments.

Expressing displeasure over Google's action against Indian firms, the Shark Tank India judge wrote, “Today is a dark day for India's Internet. Google has delisted major apps from its app store even though legal hearings are underway @CCI_India & @indSupremeCourt Their false narratives & audacity show they have little regard for 🇮🇳 Make no mistake - this is the new Digital East India Co. and this #Lagaan must be stopped!”