Google, We Need To Talk: The Twisted Tale Of SCSCreations

[AndroidDissected]

​

Subject: Notification of Google Play Developer Account Suspension
This is a notification that your Google Play Publisher account has been terminated.
REASON FOR TERMINATION: Prior violations of the Content Policy and Developer Distribution Agreement by this or associated accounts as outlined in previous emails sent to the registered email address(es) of the Publisher account(s).
Please note that Google Play Publisher suspensions are associated with developers, and may span multiple account registrations and related Google services. If you feel we have made an error, you can visit the Google Play Help Center article for additional information regarding this termination.Do not attempt to register a new developer account. We will not be restoring your account at this time.
The Google Play Team

The above email is what, SCSCreations Founder and Lead Developer, Stephanie Chute, found staring her in the face late last week. To say that she was floored by the news would be a gross understatement. Google had just slammed the door on her business, and her livelihood, with practically no notice, and as she would come to find out, absolutely no recourse. In a time where Google is enjoying an almost Apple-like level of commercial success, and consumer support, this draconian maneuver has left Stephanie, and her customers, struggling to understand the motive behind it. I had the opportunity to sit down with this, self-described, “Nerd Girl”, to discuss her past, present, and hopefully, her future within the Android ecosystem.​

Read more at AndroidDissected.com

 

[beckx020]

This is sad. I'm very disappointed with Google.

 

[johnomaz]

What absolute BS. How much you want to bet the detection is an automated process and there was no human review done on the apps themselves.

 

[xsylus]

Sometimes Google's genius gets in the way of logic and reason... :serious:


...I truly hope this gets resolved.

 

[skennelly]

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't see the problem. If it was a mistake, then it will be corrected. If it is not a mistake then there were some violations that had a consequence.

 

[b-jammin21]

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't see the problem. If it was a mistake, then it will be corrected. If it is not a mistake then there were some violations that had a consequence.

+1. I don't follow either. This statement above has the most logic to me.

 

[Narsil]

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't see the problem. If it was a mistake, then it will be corrected. If it is not a mistake then there were some violations that had a consequence.

The problem is that there is no way for her to actually contact anyone at Google to tell them it is a mistake. Read the interview with her. There was one "appeal" made and she received a canned, automated, "the verdict stands" email which included, essentially, a "your email account is now blocked and your emails will not be received" message. There are no phone numbers for her to call to reach Play Store people at Google. She's resorted to trying to contact someone via Twitter. If that fails, she says she plans on driving to Google Headquarters and trying to get a satisfactory resolution to the problem.

Besides, the supposedly violating apps were holiday-based themes. How can a Christmas and Halloween theme violate the TOS of the play store? That's what has me most puzzled.

 

[n8pbm]

Link does not work for me - It says page not found.

 

[guidot]

This article has been removed pending further investigation into the issue.