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Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#161

Post by scarface74 »

derekp7 wrote: post #29
scarface74 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternate app stores have been allowed on Android since day one.

But only if you set a security flag to "allow anything to be installed". I want a security flag that says "allow apps from sources signed by the following keys", where I can import app store keys from the app store(s) of my choosing. So I'm still protected, as long as I trust those app stores that I import.

Well, everyone wanted Android to be just as open as their computer and for the “experts” to be able to install any app that you wanted. You have your wish. There are no such safeguards on computers.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#162

Post by scarface74 »

Aeolun wrote: post #48
scarface74 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those security issues would have been rendered moot by the sandbox if they went through the Play Store. But really? That's the card you're going to play? That "every app has security issues" so this is okay?

Why would they not allow you to sandbox non-play store apps?

Everyone wants their phone to be just as open as their computer and without restrictions - you have that with Android. The minute apps are forced to be in a sandbox, you forgo “openness” and “choice”.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#163

Post by dmix »

mcv wrote: post #151
mediaman wrote: post #100

Slightly different topic, but Google also suspended our company's adwords account, I believe for using keywords related to COVID-19. The business is an American manufacturer that added capacity to manufacture PPE to make up for the lack of Chinese supply. Since we were supplying direct to the market, the prices of the PPE were in-market from before COVID times, or cheaper. We weren't out to make a killing, just to fi…

> "Google actively tried to stop distribution of American-made PPE during the pandemic." This sounds like a great headline to shine some light on Google's banning practices. Some bad PR may help them reconsider their lack of customer service.

Considering the mainstream press like NYT love to attack the tech industry/silicon valley, I'm surprised they haven't zeroed in on this one yet.

I guess much like mass-surveillance before Snowden, we in the tech-world are the only ones who know how bad it really is and why that is so dangerous.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#164

Post by thekyle »

leppr wrote: post #8

I've long wished there was a more encompassing alternative to F-Droid, which would include the same payment facilities as Google Play (paid app, in-app payments, subscriptions), allow proprietary apps (but still give FOSS as a search filter and show it as a prominent feature on the app page), and offer plenty of user curation features ala Steam and make filters optional (which would allow communities of independent r…

It's not exactly what you asked for but there is the Amazon Appstore which can be installed on any Android device. It has paid apps/in-app purchases/subscriptions support.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#165

Post by three_seagrass »

mattmaroon wrote: post #81
koheripbal wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can someone remind me why there is an "app store" that is run by the phone OS maker? Aside from the anti-trust/monopoly type issue, should there be a more market healthy de-coupling between the place I buy my apps and the OS maker? Monopolies are almost always bad for consumers. I kind of chuckle when I think about how Microsoft had such a huge battle over IE being integrated into Windows, and now we sort of accept a…

On Android you can sideload apps easily but nobody does it. According to Google, less than 0.5% of Android devices do it.

Probably more with Fortnite though.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#166

Post by Crash0v3rid3 »

vorpalhex wrote: post #140
mdwrigh2 wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's "Don't be evil" and it's still in the code of conduct: And remember… don’t be evil, and if you see something that you think isn’t right – speak up! - https://abc.xyz/investor/other/google-code-of-conduct/

[^1] is the particular source I had in mind. It seems to no longer be a value but part of the signoff. [^1]: https://gizmodo.com/google-removes-nearly-all-mentions-of-do...

The last sentence in your article:

'The updated version of Google’s code of conduct still retains one reference to the company’s unofficial motto—the final line of the document is still: “And remember… don’t be evil, and if you see something that you think isn’t right – speak up!”'

So they literally just moved it to the end of the code of conduct and did not remove it.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#167

Post by flingo »

mcv wrote: post #151
mediaman wrote: post #100

Slightly different topic, but Google also suspended our company's adwords account, I believe for using keywords related to COVID-19. The business is an American manufacturer that added capacity to manufacture PPE to make up for the lack of Chinese supply. Since we were supplying direct to the market, the prices of the PPE were in-market from before COVID times, or cheaper. We weren't out to make a killing, just to fi…

> "Google actively tried to stop distribution of American-made PPE during the pandemic." This sounds like a great headline to shine some light on Google's banning practices. Some bad PR may help them reconsider their lack of customer service.

Great headline.

Shame there won't be any ads put on that article to pay any of the staff. Another one of the problems that comes from a near-monopoly.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#168

Post by scarface74 »

UncleMeat wrote: post #138
ppseafield wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm... Well deserved, or a poor security choice for Android? The vulnerability appears to be that any app can overwrite an APK downloaded to external storage with a FileObserver. How is that not pathologically bad security on Android's part? > Any app with the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission can substitute the APK immediately after the download is completed and the fingerprint is verified. This is easily done using…

Android offers app-local storage that no other app can write to. Epic simply failed to use it. The alternative would be no shared filesystem at all, but then people would complain about that as well since things like file browsers wouldn't function and sharing things like photos between apps becomes tricky. Notably, all operating systems that allow programs to write to files have this "pathologically bad security". D…

"sharing things like photos between apps becomes tricky."

That's a solved problem. Apps on iOS can request access to the photo library. Why Apple still doesn't allow write access to the music library is frustrating.

It would be nice if you had a universal "folder picker" where multiple apps could be given access to a user created folder on ios, admittedly.

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#169

Post by LukaszO »

mediaman wrote: post #100

Slightly different topic, but Google also suspended our company's adwords account, I believe for using keywords related to COVID-19. The business is an American manufacturer that added capacity to manufacture PPE to make up for the lack of Chinese supply. Since we were supplying direct to the market, the prices of the PPE were in-market from before COVID times, or cheaper. We weren't out to make a killing, just to fi…

I successfully ran game promoting ads at the end of march, without any limiting despite having "virus" words in the ad. 2 weeks later, the game was released and got banned on Google Play one week after the release.

More story and screenshots here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23229073

Re: Google bans my events app for referencing Covid-19, or related terms

#170

Post by scarface74 »

zaroth wrote: post #56
scarface74 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those security issues would have been rendered moot by the sandbox if they went through the Play Store. But really? That's the card you're going to play? That "every app has security issues" so this is okay?

The way I see it, a well-funded and very popular entity tried to bypass Google’s stranglehold (and high taxes) on app distribution. Even they ultimately failed to maintain independent distribution. They probably invested quite a few engineering hours to devise a solution, as there’s a lot of code / Google services that need to be replicated. It’s unsurprising to me that there were some bugs in this code, and I think…

Are you as forgiving about security issues with Zoom?
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