Google terminated my developer account and started a competing business(medium.com)
medium.com
Google terminated my developer account and started a competing business
https://medium.com/@pekkasipila/google-terminated-my-developer-account-and-started-a-competing-business-a-case-for-app-neutrality-570750c8a8f
14 comments
This is a long rant and I couldn’t finish even half the post because it was going nowhere. The lead is totally buried.
>2 followers
>no details of what they were even building
Same old game developer narcissism. I bet Nintendo was really worried about your game coming out too, in case it hurt their Switch sales. How can a person be so conceited?
Same old game developer narcissism. I bet Nintendo was really worried about your game coming out too, in case it hurt their Switch sales. How can a person be so conceited?
Hard to know if the claims are true if we don't even know what the original app ...is / was.
I feel companies brought this on themselves. Sure, having an app might have helped early on to differentiate yourself from your competition, but now you have to have an app if you want to seem legit. Which means you have to get in bed with Google and Apple.
First time I read some of the different app store terms, I was in disbelief as to why anyone would want to put serious effort into an app under those terms.
But yeah, not all companies can claim to be only a victim here, as many have been enablers too. Especially the larger ones, those who could said no, but choose not to.
But yeah, not all companies can claim to be only a victim here, as many have been enablers too. Especially the larger ones, those who could said no, but choose not to.
They should at least give the subject area related to the violation.
> We’ve reviewed and confirmed this association.
Such a detail...
> We’ve reviewed and confirmed this association.
Such a detail...
We don’t know what kind of details Google gave, we only have one side of the story.
Google don't give any details, as far as I have been able to deduce, and that's absolutely part of the problem.
As far as I know, nobody even knows what the phrase "associated account" means, it could be anything, maybe someone free-riding on your WiFi?
It's one of the things Google does that I find absolutely appalling. It patently absurd that you for unknowable reasons might become unable to continue supporting yourself without any recourse or remedy at the leisure of these behemoth companies, only because they consider you associated with someone who has broken the rules.
Since so little is known, it might even affect your possibilities for employment. Who would want to risk their product getting thrown out of the app store because your team got 'tainted' by a hire which had a prior app store termination to his/her name?
As far as I know, nobody even knows what the phrase "associated account" means, it could be anything, maybe someone free-riding on your WiFi?
It's one of the things Google does that I find absolutely appalling. It patently absurd that you for unknowable reasons might become unable to continue supporting yourself without any recourse or remedy at the leisure of these behemoth companies, only because they consider you associated with someone who has broken the rules.
Since so little is known, it might even affect your possibilities for employment. Who would want to risk their product getting thrown out of the app store because your team got 'tainted' by a hire which had a prior app store termination to his/her name?
> someone who has broken the rules.
Google's rules. How long till they decide that making apps to break Android DRM, or block advertising, is also against their rules? Those rules aren't written to advance ethical computing, but to make Google money.
Google's rules. How long till they decide that making apps to break Android DRM, or block advertising, is also against their rules? Those rules aren't written to advance ethical computing, but to make Google money.
Breaking DRM is against federal law, so... I'm not sure where you are going with this.
It sounds like you really want to bring that up with the Terms of Service of your government.
It sounds like you really want to bring that up with the Terms of Service of your government.
I'm absolutely with you on that one. I probably should have been even more clear on my position, I really think app store agreements and rules need to be reigned in, somehow. Right now it looks like it's probably going to be done, badly, by various governments. Not ideal, but neither of the major players show any real intent of fixing their issues, different as they are.
There are too many parallels between how the feudal lords of old treated indentured labour/bond servants/serfs and how app developers are treated today. Difference too, clearly, but the similarities are concerning nevertheless.
In feudal society the lords were effectively above the law, and from the perspectives of an app developer, the app store gatekeepers are similarly above the law. Not literally so, but effectively so. We've allowed companies to create their own virtual kingdoms where the ToS is the constitution, and the serfs have no rights but those given by the king.
There are too many parallels between how the feudal lords of old treated indentured labour/bond servants/serfs and how app developers are treated today. Difference too, clearly, but the similarities are concerning nevertheless.
In feudal society the lords were effectively above the law, and from the perspectives of an app developer, the app store gatekeepers are similarly above the law. Not literally so, but effectively so. We've allowed companies to create their own virtual kingdoms where the ToS is the constitution, and the serfs have no rights but those given by the king.
The “competing business” seems almost like clickbait.
This is a game developer and he is saying Stadia is a competing business. But Google will want developers to make games for stadia, not make all the games themselves.
As far as the termination itself goes, either he actually did have another account or shared creds with someone who did something shady, or he was just unlucky enough to share an IP address or some other piece of tracking info with a person who did. It would be interesting to know the next steps google might take, for instance if this person became employed by another company would google terminate the accounts of that company? The email seems to suggest they could, but I assume that at some point a company might grow big enough that google would back off.
This is a game developer and he is saying Stadia is a competing business. But Google will want developers to make games for stadia, not make all the games themselves.
As far as the termination itself goes, either he actually did have another account or shared creds with someone who did something shady, or he was just unlucky enough to share an IP address or some other piece of tracking info with a person who did. It would be interesting to know the next steps google might take, for instance if this person became employed by another company would google terminate the accounts of that company? The email seems to suggest they could, but I assume that at some point a company might grow big enough that google would back off.
Yes, I didn’t finish the whole article, but it seems akin to saying Wal-mart kicked my lemonade stand off their property and competed by selling Countrytime and Newman’s Own.
Considering they never even launched their game, I think that metaphor is giving too much credit.
It would be like if your friend was caught stealing from Walmart, and then you and your friend walk in to Walmart together. Then when Walmart bans you by association, you write a blog post about how Walmart is trying to shut down your lemonade brand.
It would be like if your friend was caught stealing from Walmart, and then you and your friend walk in to Walmart together. Then when Walmart bans you by association, you write a blog post about how Walmart is trying to shut down your lemonade brand.