The Digital Markets Act (DMA) prohibits designated Online Intermediation Services (OISs) like Google Play or Google Maps from including so-called “Most-Favoured Nation” (MFN) clauses — sometimes also referred to as “parity clauses” — in contracts with their business users located in, or offering products or services to end users in the European Economic Area (EEA). This means that a designated OIS can’t prevent its business users from offering their products or services to end users in the EEA under different prices and/or conditions through any other distribution channel they use.
Google Play has been designated as an OIS. In early 2024, we sent waiver notices to all business users of Google Play whose contracts may have contained MFN clauses, informing them that these MFN clauses are no longer applicable. This means that your contract with Google Play doesn’t prevent you, as an app developer, from offering your apps in the EEA at different prices and conditions on other distribution channels compared to the Play Store. We provide further information about these waiver notices in the FAQs below.
Disclaimer: Note that this FAQ serves to provide additional information on the waiver effective as of January 1, 2024. It does not in itself constitute a waiver. The materials appearing on this page don’t constitute legal advice and are provided for information purposes only.
Frequently asked questions
I received a waiver notice at some point in the first half of 2024. What does this mean for my contract with Google?The waiver notice is a communication that has the effect of removing certain obligations for you from your contract with Google. You received a waiver notice because we identified your contract with Google as potentially containing MFN clauses that are prohibited under the Digital Markets Act. The waiver means that such MFN clauses no longer apply with regard to the offering of products or services in the EEA.
As a result, your contract with Google Play doesn’t prevent you from offering your products or services to users in the EEA at different prices and conditions on other distribution channels compared to the Play Store.
For the avoidance of doubt, the waiver only applies to the MFN clause(s), and has no impact on the rest of your agreement with Google Play.
A contract you have with Google was identified as potentially including MFN clauses that are now prohibited under the Digital Markets Act.
These MFN clauses required you to apply the same price or conditions to products or services offered on Google Play as you apply to such products or services offered in the EEA through alternative distribution channels, including your own direct sales channel.
Such MFN requirements may have included parity of pricing (i.e., the price/fees charged to customers on any other distribution channel), parity of content or features (i.e., the core content or features of the product/service as offered through any other distribution channel) or parity of territory (i.e., the geography where the product/service is offered).
These MFN clauses have now been removed with respect to all products or services offered to end users in the EEA.