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Tag: play store

  • Google is also removing apps used to report sightings of ICE agents

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    Following Apple’s removal of ICEBlock from the App Store, an app used to report on the activity of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, 404 Media reports that Google is also removing similar apps from the Play Store. In a statement to Engadget, Google said “ICEBlock was never available on Google Play, but we removed similar apps for violations of our policies.”

    Google says that it decided to remove apps that shared the location of a vulnerable group following a violent act that involved the group and a similar collection of apps. It suggests the apps were also removed because they didn’t appropriately moderate user-generated content. To be offered in the Play Store, apps with user-generated content have to clearly define what is or isn’t objectionable content in their terms of service, and make sure those terms line up with Google’s definitions of inappropriate content for Google Play.

    404 Media report specifically focuses on Red Dot, an app that both Google and Apple removed. Like ICEBlock, Red Dot designed to let users report on ICE activity in their neighborhood. Rather than just rely on user submissions, the app’s website says that it “aggregates verified reports from multiple trusted sources” and then combines those sources to determine where to mark activity on a map of your area. “Red Dot never tracks ICE agents, law enforcement, or any person’s movements” and the app’s developers “categorically reject harassment, interference, or harm toward ICE agents or anyone else.” Despite those claims, the app is not currently available to download from the Play Store or the App Store.

    The pushback against ICE tracking apps seemed to begin in earnest following a shooting at a Dallas ICE facility that injured two detainees and killed another on September 24. According to an FBI agent that spoke to The New York Times, the shooter “had been following apps that track the location of ICE agents” in the days leading up to the event.

    Apple pulled the ICEBlock app from the App Store yesterday following a request from US Attorney General Pam Bondi. In a statement shared with Fox Business, Bondi said that “ICEBlock is designed to put ICE agents at risk just for doing their jobs, and violence against law enforcement is an intolerable red line that cannot be crossed.” Apple’s response was to remove the app. “Based on information we’ve received from law enforcement about the safety risks associated with ICEBlock, we have removed it and similar apps from the App Store,” Apple told the publication.

    Google says it didn’t receive a similar request to remove apps from the Play Store. Instead, the company appears to be acting proactively. The test for either platform going forward, though, is if there’s a way that developers can offer these apps without them being removed again.

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    Ian Carlos Campbell

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  • Google is following Apple’s lead by adding new developer fees in the EU

    Google is following Apple’s lead by adding new developer fees in the EU

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    Yesterday Google outlined the changes it will make to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) that goes into effect starting today. One important detail it left out, however, was whether it would charge developers who directed users outside the Play Store to sideload apps — and if so, how much.

    Now, Google has revealed that it will indeed charge developers even if they don’t use the Play Store, just like Apple did with the App Store. Per new details found in the Play Console help section, the company will charge two new fees:

    1. An initial acquisition fee of 10% for in-app purchases or 5% for subscriptions for two years. This represents the value Play provided in facilitating initial user acquisition.

    2. An ongoing services fee of 17% for in-app purchases or 7% for subscriptions. This covers ongoing Play services like parental controls, security, fraud prevention, and app updates.

    Developers can opt out of ongoing fees after two years if users agree, but ongoing Play services will no longer apply. “Since users acquired the app through Play with the expectation of services such as parental controls, security scanning, fraud prevention, and continuous app updates, discontinuation of services requires user consent as well,” Google stated.

    Google included the following chart to show how the fees will apply to a hypothetical “Fantastiq App”:

    Google is following Apple's lead by adding new developer fees in the EU

    Google

    With this, Google is taking a similar approach to Apple, which reduced App Store commissions but introduced new fees. Namely, Apple tacked on on a new 3 percent “payment processing” fee for transactions that go through its store. And a new “core technology fee” will charge a flat €0.50 fee for all app downloads, regardless of whether they come from the App Store or a third-party website, after the first 1 million installations.

    Google is justifying the fees by touting the value it provides in the Android ecosystem: “Play’s fees support our investment in Android and Google Play and reflect the value provided by Android and Play, including enabling us to distribute Android for free and provide the continuously growing suite of tools and services that help developers build successful businesses, all while keeping our platforms safe and secure for billions of users worldwide.”

    Epic CEO Tim Sweeney already blasted Google’s post about DMA compliance yesterday, before the new fees were even made public. “Google announced its malicious compliance plans for the European DMA law… it looks like their illegal anti-steering policy will be replaced by a new Google Tax on web transactions. We’ll likely soon learn how he and other developers react to the new fees.

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    Steve Dent

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  • Google admits Spotify pays no Play Store fees because of a secret deal | TechCrunch

    Google admits Spotify pays no Play Store fees because of a secret deal | TechCrunch

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    A Google executive said during a testimony in the Epic vs Google trial that a deal with Spotify allows the audio company to bypass Play Store fees, as reported by The Verge.

    Don Harrison, Google’s head of partnership, said that Spotify pays no fees when it processes its own payments and pays a measly 4% fee when Google processes them, the publication noted. He also said that both companies have committed to put $50 million each in a “success fund.”

    The details surfaced today after Google requested the court to keep the specifics of its deal with Spotify sealed earlier in the month.

    Google typically takes a 15% cut on subscription apps. This fee could be reduced to 11% due to programs like user choice billing, which allows developers to use their own or third-party payment solutions.

    “A small number of developers that invest more directly in Android and Play may have different service fees as part of a broader partnership that includes substantial financial investments and product integrations across different form factors. These key investment partnerships allow us to bring more users to Android and Play by continuously improving the experience for all users and creating new opportunities for all developers,” Google spokesperson Dan Jackson said in a statement.

    Google has tried to strike similar Play Store deals with large companies as well. Earlier this month, The Verge reported that the search giant offered Netflix a deal in 2017 to just pay a 10% fee on Play Store for subscriptions. Netflix doesn’t allow users to buy subscriptions through the Android app at the moment.

    Last month, the Mountain View-based company reached a settlement with the Match Group to let the dating app giant use third-party billing solutions on the Play Store. Match Group’s rival Bumble was part of the user choice billing program pilot started in November 2022.

    Epic, however, rejected Google’s offers to adopt user choice billing and went to trial earlier this month. The trial has uncovered many details about Google Play Store’s inner workings. For example, in 2021, the company offered $197 million to Epic to bring Fortnite to the Play Store, but the gaming company refused the deal. Separately, Google has tried to strike multimillion-dollar deals with other game makers such as Activision Blizzard and Tencent’s Riot Games.

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    Ivan Mehta

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