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Google terminates Play Store account of Simple Keyboard developer

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Re: Google terminates Play Store account of Simple Keyboard developer

#41

Post by johnx5c »

steampilot wrote: post #38

I'm not saying that Google was right to do this, but this has to be taken with a grain of salt because we don't really know what the circumstances were. Can the user prove his claims that he wasn't notified about violations in the past? No he can't (more info here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burden_of_proof_(philosophy)#P... ). In this case, Google would have to prove that they actually emailed the person, but I do…

One is a developer putting his reputation on the line for a free open-source product he has put hundreds of hours of work into. The other is a faceless trillion dollar advertising company operated mostly via black-box Machine Learning with a very public history of incorrectly censoring users and terminating accounts. I know who I would tend to trust.

Re: Google terminates Play Store account of Simple Keyboard developer

#42

Post by hrunt »

steampilot wrote: post #38

I'm not saying that Google was right to do this, but this has to be taken with a grain of salt because we don't really know what the circumstances were. Can the user prove his claims that he wasn't notified about violations in the past? No he can't (more info here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burden_of_proof_(philosophy)#P... ). In this case, Google would have to prove that they actually emailed the person, but I do…

How does one prove that they did not receive the violation notifications? Regardless, is it that hard for Google to actually list out the specific violations in the termination notice and provide a direct, responsive way to address them?

Re: Google terminates Play Store account of Simple Keyboard developer

#43

Post by xhkkffbf »

hrunt wrote: post #42
steampilot wrote: post #38

I'm not saying that Google was right to do this, but this has to be taken with a grain of salt because we don't really know what the circumstances were. Can the user prove his claims that he wasn't notified about violations in the past? No he can't (more info here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burden_of_proof_(philosophy)#P... ). In this case, Google would have to prove that they actually emailed the person, but I do…

How does one prove that they did not receive the violation notifications? Regardless, is it that hard for Google to actually list out the specific violations in the termination notice and provide a direct, responsive way to address them?

This is an excellent point. You can't prove much. If the person or the AI closing the account knows enough to make a decision, those details can be repeated again.

This is how it's done in the real world. When judges sentence someone, they repeat the charges and the guilty verdict. When parents scold a child, they tell the child why.

Re: Google terminates Play Store account of Simple Keyboard developer

#45

Post by tomerv »

gbraad wrote: post #25

The sad thing is the fact Google has (almost?) no customer support. Don't buy or pay for their services. Perhaps one day if they improved, but most likely, as with all they do, it will be terminated/canceled soon after away.

Some Google services have support. I pay for extra storage, and I get Google One bundled with it, which includes a support channel. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I heard that it's reasonable. The real issue is that when you're banned, you get locked out of the whole service.

Re: Google terminates Play Store account of Simple Keyboard developer

#46

Post by ziml77 »

Symbiote wrote: post #40

Since he may be in the EU, I wonder if he could appeal the decision using Article 22 of the GDPR "The data subject shall have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her or similarly significantly affects him or her." https://gdpr-info.eu/art-22-gdpr/

How does the GDPR apply here? This decision wasn't made by processing the personal data of the developer.

Re: Google terminates Play Store account of Simple Keyboard developer

#47

Post by jhauris »

Noumenon72 wrote: post #44

Off topic, can anyone recommend an Android keyboard that allows copy and paste the way Swype did (swipe to c, swipe to v) since Swype went out of business and the stock Google keyboard bizarrely doesn't let you copy and paste?

Using Google's Gboard (stock on my phone), long press allows copy or paste. Selecting the text to copy is annoying, though.

Re: Google terminates Play Store account of Simple Keyboard developer

#49

Post by flipdot »

squarefoot wrote: post #35

If Google Play wasn't a monopoly (read as: if Google was forced to include say at least two open app stores not related to them on the Android main page), they would think twice before bullying developers. I'm sure the folks at F-Droid would be happy to host the app, but what's F-Droid exposure to non technical users?

An interesting definition of “not a monopoly”: being forced to advertise your competitors on your own platform, for free.

Re: Google terminates Play Store account of Simple Keyboard developer

#50

Post by butz »

Someone should make a precedent to prevent such nonsensical account terminations without any explanation in the future. How about flagging application first and just hiding from app store? Give developer some time to fix any issues, if there were any in the first place. Communicate better, please! Even an "AI" could send an email with explanation why app was flagged. Application is open-source and author doesn't make any money from it, is that a problem for google?
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