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Google terminated our business via our Google Play Developer Account

blog.usejournal.com

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

#42
post #21
post #17

Would love to sympathize but I can’t agree with their “neighbour” analogy. A more apt analogy is this: If someone has illegal dealings in the past, and you conduct business with them in the present, the authorities are well within their rights to investigate you. If you didn’t know beforehand, the investigation should convince you to cease further activities. If you did know and still proceeded, it’s your own damn fa…

In this case they are not being "investigated" but "convicted".

Please. This is not a court of law. Google, as a business, is cutting ties with your business because your business has toes to someone who shat in their backyard. It’s not your fault if you didn’t know, that’s unfair, but they are entitled to protect themselves too. Sometimes life is unfair and bad breaks happen.

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

#43

This is why PWA is important: Google cannot ban a website! Also, the author should make sure to publish their app on non-Google App Stores and remind users that they still have a choice. And for those questioning on why the author is upset if they're still on the iOS store: Android is about 85% of the global market, and about 2/3rds of the US devices. iOS is this weird dying phone OS that Apple is keeping alive even…

> iOS is this weird dying phone OS that Apple is keeping alive even though there really aren't that many users

I don't think it should be given the priority developers give it, but 15% globally and 30% in the US are a lot of people.

They're also far more eager to spend than Android users.

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

#44

It sounds like the problem is with the outsourced developers responsible for the app. It's their account which has been banned - for multiple violations of the ToS. Now, perhaps this is just over-zealous enforcement on Google's part, but it's also possible that these developers have created shady apps before, or are adding shady code to apps developed for others. The OP doesn't seem to know for certain what code is i…

Google has the burden of proof to show why they are guilty by mere association, but won't do it, likely because they don't want to reveal any information about how they determine who is violating the ToS. There should be greater transparency and a better appeals process, but there won't be.

At the very least it doesn't seem that Google has thought of a better way to handle the scenario where an honest client relies upon a firm that has within it one bad actor, which seems kind of short-sighted given the heavy-handed nature of their policy - ban and delete someone else's work..

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

#45
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

App stores are the least-unreliable mechanism I have to trust executable code. I don’t even enable JavaScript by default. Do you have an alternative trust mechanism that can’t be subverted via, for example, algorithmic voting?

>App stores are the least-unreliable mechanism I have to trust executable code. And yet almost weekly I read a new story about malicious apps being found in app stores. Like this one posted today: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/02/googl... Personally I trust things from app stores about as much as I trust random things from the web.

Which is why I phrased it “least unreliable” rather than “best”.

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

#46

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…

The review money is ridiculously small when compared to the investment they made.

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

#47

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…

>Isn't this legally actionable fraud?

Does it matter if it is? B2B lawsuits only get down to the actual law if the parties have a relatively equal amount of money. A small or medium business going after google _after google has shut off their revenue_ is not going to ever win

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

#48
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “ This ultimately hurts app stores ” Good, app stores need to die.

App stores are the least-unreliable mechanism I have to trust executable code. I don’t even enable JavaScript by default. Do you have an alternative trust mechanism that can’t be subverted via, for example, algorithmic voting?

I think you should be crediting sandboxing for that.

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

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Dont trust google and [don't] have a strategy that totally relies on a party out of your control Last week, much of Google and Facebook were brought to a halt after Apple revoked their enterprise certificates. While the circumstances justified Apple's actions in this case, the fact remains that even Google and Facebook are largely reliant on another large company. If Apple completely banned all Facebook apps from t…

> I don't see how you can not be reliant on Apple/Google. This is the very definition of a monopoly, isn't it? If the government was working properly, it would be ready to break up these companies, as well in other areas of oligopoly such as oil and banking.

[deleted]

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

#50
I actually just got my Google Ads account suspended because I forgot to update my billing address before adding a new card.

The suspension was for "suspicious billing activity", tried appealing twice with the correct billing address, and was told the suspension is final (some automated email) both times.

They won't take my calls because the account is suspended, which leaves me not being able to advertise on the #1 service to do so.

It's completely unacceptable, especially for a business in their position. One tiny mistake leads you to a lifetime of suspension to a service vital to almost any business.

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