Google has been a very generous investor for India in the past few months as CEO Sundar Pichai announced to invest USD 10 billion in India under its Google For India Growth Fund which will be distributed to Indian start-ups in the next five to seven years with major emphasis on digitising the Indian economy and making digital advancements in the country in terms of India-first products and services.
India is a potential market for Google and many other technology giants across the globe. Having given that introduction, in recent events, Google India has reportedly announced to remove money lending applications from the Google Play Store, those of which are violating the company’s user policies and Terms & Conditions.
The Search Engine giant has been very actively reviewing personal loan applications in India and analysing their adherence to the company’s user policies and safety concerns. For those money lending applications who fail to keep up with Google’s policy standards are immediately being removed from its Play Store.
According to a report by Money Control, Google India published a blog post on 14th January stating that it is taking these removal actions according to red flags reported by users on the Google Play Store and government agencies.
In addition to this, the blog post further said or rather instructed or warned the money lending platforms to comply with the said company guidelines in order to stay active on the Play Store. It clearly mentioned that those apps who fail to comply with Google’s user policies will immediately be removed from the Google Play Store.
Well, this warning cannot be taken for granted as not very long ago, Google India removed India’s most valuable start-up application, Paytm which is a financial technology platform used by a plethora of Indian uses. This removal took the internet by a storm as Google accused Paytm of violating terms of policy by indulging in gambling activities on the platform. However, the issue was later solved when Paytm complied with the said terms and conditions and explained their side of the story to the internet.
This example was just a reminder that Google India will not leave any stone unturned to keep in check the security and privacy of its users. If Google can remove India’s most valuable start-up applications, then it can affirmatively remove money lending application from the platform.
Furthermore, the tech giant further mentioned in a statement that it will continue to assist law enforcement agencies in their investigation regarding money lending fraud and other issues. As mentioned in a report by Money Control, the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) announced on the 13th of January, 2021 that it is appointing an internal party to analyse digital activities so that an appropriate regulatory framework can be enforced in the country.
The recent popularity of money lending applications and the attached fraud cases along with them have led the Indian authorities and Google India to take strict actions against such malpractitioners.
