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22 Nov Google files counterclaim to Match’s antitrust lawsuit, says Match wants to use its services for free

Google has responded to dating app maker Match Group's antitrust lawsuit in a scathing new court filing which refers to Match's original complaint as a “cynical attempt” to take advantage of Google Play's distribution platform and other tools while attempting to sidestep Google's fees.

The two tech giants have been battling it out in court after Match sued Google this May over its alleged monopoly power in Android app payments.

Match - which operates dating apps including Tinder, Match, OkCupid, Plenty of Fish, Hinge and others - is claiming Google has too much control over the Google Play app marketplace and uses anticompetitive tactics to maintain its hold on that ecosystem

The app maker is one of many larger publishers, alongside Epic Games and Spotify, that have been looking for relief from Google's service fees. Epic Games is also suing both Apple and Google. The companies largely want to offer their own in-app payment systems instead of being forced to use Google's own payments infrastructure and want to avoid the commissions that come with having their apps distributed through the Google Play store and App Store.

Earlier this year, Google and Match came to a temporary compromise about how they would proceed while the lawsuit was underway.

Now, Google has filed its counterclaim in this ongoing lawsuit, where it argues that Match is misleading the court in saying Google simply provides payment processing fees to the apps distributed on its platform.