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Google terminated our business via our Google Play Developer Account

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Re: Google terminated our business via our Google Play Developer Account

#471

Post by JetSpiegel »

benologist wrote: post #306
JetSpiegel wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ancillary customers that Google throws some crumbs to, not the raison d'être of the enterprise.

They have collected billions from developers via their 30% commission on sales and IAPs on their app store, plus the massive volume of advertisements shown in their customers apps for which their split is much more than 30%. Many developers are paying thousands or more a month to Google. Google's customers include advertisers, and they include people paying them for hosting, and people paying them to buy apps, and pe…

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1652044/000165204419...

Their revenue last year was 136 billions. Even if we charitable assume app developers spend 10 billions per annum in aggregate, that's only 10%. Ancillary revenue.

Re: Google terminated our business via our Google Play Developer Account

#472

Post by jon-wood »

noonespecial wrote: post #27

The question I always have with this stuff is this: To attract developers, these platforms make some promises. A "review" process for supposed violations of TOS causing cancellations is always among them. But to me these "reviews" always seem either completely faked or some version of a lowest-level employee simply restating that the algo has made its choice and they are powerless. More incriminating is that every ti…

I had an app attached to a service which required sign in to do anything on the Apple store for 4 years, and according to our metrics no one ever signed into the App Store review account you’re required to set up, which definitely backs up your theory that they’re at least sometimes just doing an automated scan of your app and hitting a button.

Re: Google terminated our business via our Google Play Developer Account

#473

Post by DanielBMarkham »

roenxi wrote: post #350
noonespecial wrote: post #27

The question I always have with this stuff is this: To attract developers, these platforms make some promises. A "review" process for supposed violations of TOS causing cancellations is always among them. But to me these "reviews" always seem either completely faked or some version of a lowest-level employee simply restating that the algo has made its choice and they are powerless. More incriminating is that every ti…

When dealing with a bureaucracy (ie, not Google specific) a "review" might not mean "reconsider the issue" instead meaning "check the process was followed". In an extreme example, lets say that a bureaucrat takes an action because they have an unreasonable personal dislike of something. A bureaucratic review of the situation will confirm that the person had authority to act as they did then close the case. The reason…

There's also a riff on Arthur C. Clarke's law. Any sufficiently complex or opaque system of control is indistinguishable from tyranny.

What we see over and over with tech cases like this is 1) We can't tell you exactly how we figure stuff out because then you'd game it, 2) Things happen based on actions and associations you don't realize are important

This is effectively having somebody show up at your house at random times and punch you in the face.

But, we are told, it's all for the greater good. I don't doubt that the averages work out -- more good is done than evil. I do, however, doubt that such over-generalizing is so much for the greater good as it is for the bottom lines of the tech companies involved.

Re: Google terminated our business via our Google Play Developer Account

#474

Post by bad_user »

kevingadd wrote: post #414
smelendez wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they specially whitelisted themselves it would raise antitrust issues.

System messages getting through the spam filter isn't an antitrust issue, they're not marketing or competition or sales. In this case it's a 'your account is about to be terminated' message which absolutely should not be getting sent into the spam bin, that's actively harmful to your business. Imagine if the gmail spam bin was eating important renewal notifications and business notices for a company that competes wit…

The problem is that Google might be sending those emails in a way that activates the spam filters on other email providers.

So if the message is "use Gmail or otherwise you can lose important messages from Google and then your business gets screwed" ... that's definitely an anti-trust issue.

That said, they should definitely fix this issue.

Re: Google terminated our business via our Google Play Developer Account

#477

Post by SiVal »

reaperducer wrote: post #252
SiVal wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Caprices of TOS details, reviews, algorithms, service quality, or whatever are not the real problem. The real problem is when you can't reasonably choose to do business with someone else and move on, as they are free to do with you. Network effects are causing more and more important things to both expand into great significance and to be dominated by a single company (or pair of gatekeepers, both of whom must be app…

The real problem is when you can't reasonably choose to do business with someone else and move on, as they are free to do with you. Something I learned the hard way when I first started out in business is to never make your business dependent on a single entity. Whether it's a supplier, or a publisher, or a telco, or whatever. They are all single points of failure, and unless you're a huge business, one failure can b…

I agree, but this is the equivalent of choosing not to walk through dangerous neighborhoods. At a personal level, where you don't make the world but have to deal with reality as it is, this is wise if you have the option. Save yourself if you can. But at the same time, you should also support policy changes that you believe will make the dangerous neighborhoods safe. Save others, too, if you can. Anything that makes a neighborhood "dangerous" should be removed as long as it's not simply replaced by something equally dangerous.

If a market or medium is too dangerous to enter because there is no realistic alternative to submitting to the 800-lb gorilla, the gorilla's ability to threaten rather than compete must be eliminated.

Re: Google terminated our business via our Google Play Developer Account

#478

Post by amenod »

qhwudbebd wrote: post #85

I note from the mention of £25k that you're probably in the UK. If you don't mind burning fifty quid or so, you might find it satisfying to use the small claims process to issue for a sensible (not super-inflated) estimate of damages. The below is not legal advice, but is written from personal experience. Try to leave a clear paper trail of your reasonableness: send a clear notice before action with a reasonable time…

I sincerely hope you go that route (well, if you can't resolve the issue otherwise, of course), and if you do, please please please make a post about it later.
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