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Apple has locked me out of my developer account

rambo.codes

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Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#131

Post by jakozaur »

Another case how current tech giants build huge platform with no oversight exploiting their monopoly power.

This developer should be able to appeal Apple decision for nominal fee (e.g. $100). There should be independent committee that could judge timely his case. If committee found developer makes invalid claim, then he loses fee. If Apple is found, it should be forced to change decision and pay for the committee cost plus refund $100 to developer.

Being kicked out of platform such as Google, Facebook, Apple is a death penalty for many companies. Yet there is no equivalent of judicial system that works well enough in internet era.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#132

Post by klohto »

TylerE wrote: post #119
rmsaksida wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if that's all true, and even if Apple has good reasons to lock his account, why not just tell him the reason? I don't understand why tech companies have this passive aggressive attitude when users violate their rules of witholding information and giving some vague canned responses when asked about what's going on. Just tell him what happened in detail.

Because that’s opsec 101. If you tell a bad actor how you caught them, you’re just telling them how to do better (sneakier) next time.

You don’t have to tell them how you caught them but what rules they violated.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#133

Post by pg_is_a_butt »

gwbennett wrote: post #84

If Apple believes Rambo violated the Developer Agreement, why not let him know? Why not give him a warning? Both Google and Facebook recently violated Apple's Enterprise Developer Agreement, had their accounts locked, and within 48 hours their accounts were reinstated after they were allowed to correct the issues. Same has happened over the years to other companies. If Apple did lock his account because of some viola…

Because Apple didn't sign a contract with him, he signed a contract with Apple.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#134

Post by fauigerzigerk »

sneak wrote: post #34
conradfr wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes I wonder who are the developers that coded that and if they're proud of their work, destroying a not so insignificant part of many people's live.

Consent is an active process. Either party can revoke consent at any time without cause without being an asshole; future consent thus cannot reasonably be assumed in perpetuity. Use offlineimap; make backups.

Yes you can legally revoke consent, but if you are a global oligopolist and your revoking consent wipes out people's digital identity, personal data and professional existence, then you should not be surprised if you get crushed by regulators eventually.

Developers in particular have nowhere else to go. Backing up your code doesn't help if you get locked out of one of the 2.5 app stores on planet earth. Your skills are worthless.

"Make backups" doesn't quite cover it - not even for consumers. How do you keep up-to-date backups of your Google Docs & Sheets? How do you restore an Android backup including all your purchases after getting banned by Google?

The principle of "either party can revoke consent" is based on the assumption that both parties have other realistic options. But that is no longer the case. This market has become completely dysfunctional.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#135

Post by benologist »

dkonofalski wrote: post #125
klyrs wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They simply have no right to quash free speech. They haven't quashed free speech. They've built a consequence to speech into their developer agreement, as an exercise of their freedom of association. If you're in a bar and you trashtalk the waitstaff to their faces, it's fully within their rights to eject you. You're free to stand on the sidewalk outside of the bar and continue to exercise your rights. Just as OP i…

That's a decent analogy and I'm surprised you're getting voted down.

It’s a lot closer to leaving a Yelp review that accurately described their behavior a few days after you witnessed them doing something stupid that ruined your experience.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#136

Post by chipsa »

FussyZeus wrote: post #120
mortenjorck wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My bigger issue here is the complete lack of transparency or visibility into the process. This is indeed the core of the problem. If Apple provided a clear citation, e.g. “the following protected information was shared under your name at this URL on this date, which violates section xyz of your developer agreement,” it would still be unfortunate, but it would be miles ahead of Apple’s maddening “for more informatio…

This is impossible at scale and a waste of a companies' time. Apple doesn't care if your account is reinstated. Odds are (just like the author here) you know exactly why your account is suspended. If you honestly don't, then you didn't do your due diligence in signing up. And, even if they cited whatever part of whatever agreement, it would just be onto the next excuse. It's a bottomless pit of arguing that solves no…

If someone can manually kill a Dev account, they can include a message why it was killed. Even if it's generic form letter, it can be one that at least says what rule was broken.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#137

Post by zepto »

romaaeterna wrote: post #64
ceejayoz wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Revoking access isn't a secret channel nor harassment. > Your rights under this license to use and access the Content will terminate automatically without notice from Apple if you fail to comply with any of these provisions.

And cutting off access is quite possibly reasonable. But they've gone quite a bit farther than "no notice" in refusing to answer any questions after the fact (or even point to the contract and any provisions they may think he is in violation of, if this is not just wild speculation) when approached by him. It makes their position that this is some sort of contract dispute far weaker. I assume there is an arbitrage cl…

If he has a case, then he can invoke the arbitrage clause.

Given that there is clear public evidence that he is misrepresenting what happened and that he has profited from breaking the NDA, why is any of this work that Apple should do?

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#138

Post by zepto »

saagarjha wrote: post #106
ceejayoz wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think that really changes anything. That article clearly indicates he sourced some information from the developer program betas, which would be a violation of the NDA when publicized.

Oh, he totally has. But that doesn’t mean Apple shouldn’t tell him why they locked him out.

Surely he knows?

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#139

Post by ThrowawayR2 »

izacus wrote: post #121
SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine he crossed some terms of service with obvious legal clarity... so, I guess I’m not sure Apple should separate his “official” and “unofficial” actions. IDK. Maybe I’m just big into personal responsibility and knowing that you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you. He did a thing, and now pays a price. I guess I don’t see a lot of gray area. Could you make the argument that Apple’s walled garden has issues,…

I know you didn't think it through directly, but you're now basically supporting the ability of a multi-billionare corporation to financially attack a developer and disable their device over criticism. Just how chilling effect is that? Not being able to criticise and freely talk about a corporation and its product due to fear of having your company financially destroyed or even your personal Apple ID killed over sayi…

"My house (or in this case, walled garden) , my rules." As people are fond of pointing out, Apple is not a monopoly therefore he has plenty of other places to sell his software.

Re: Apple has locked me out of my developer account

#140

Post by wool_gather »

SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #67
rgovostes wrote: post #39

> I’m just an indie developer trying to make good products. Apple should separate Rambo's software development from his reporting rather than retaliate against him, if that is indeed what is happening, but it is a little disingenuous for him to make the above claim. Rambo reverse engineers Apple products and publishes findings on 9to5Mac.com, in particular future product references that have slipped prematurely into…

I imagine he crossed some terms of service with obvious legal clarity... so, I guess I’m not sure Apple should separate his “official” and “unofficial” actions. IDK. Maybe I’m just big into personal responsibility and knowing that you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you. He did a thing, and now pays a price. I guess I don’t see a lot of gray area. Could you make the argument that Apple’s walled garden has issues,…

Not sure if I agree or disagree. But if it's so clear cut, why wouldn't Apple just tell him the reason?
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