
Why is Google allowing this popular app to violate so many Google Play rules? - chei0aiV
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/489dcz
======
LukeB_UK
From their own post:

> _SongFlip has been banned from Google Play several times in the past for
> Intellectual Property infringement. After his developer account is banned,
> the developer keeps on creating new developer accounts to reupload this app.
> Below is a list of past package names this app has been uploaded under,
> which have since been banned:

com.seven.songflip

com.fungames.songflip

com.unicornlabs.firetunes_

So really Google isn't allowing it, this person just keeps on signing up.

~~~
rwmj
There is surely a way to determine if one app is substantially similar to a
previously banned app, eg. by fuzzy comparing the binary, or running it and
comparing screenshots.

~~~
chiph
If you do that, you'll wipe out hundreds if not thousands of "Candy Crush" and
"Bejeweled" clones.

~~~
toyg
And that would be bad because...?

~~~
Klathmon
Just because you don't like an app doesn't mean it doesn't or can't provide
value and deserves to be removed.

~~~
PhasmaFelis
What if an app provides negative value? Right now every successful app has a
few dozen knockoffs that are deliberately confusingly similar, and
functionally identical or inferior; it makes discovery considerably more
difficult, especially if you're looking for something that _isn 't_ a hit or a
ripoff of a hit.

~~~
Klathmon
I'm pretty sure nobody is advocating for warez or exact copy apps, but you
need to be careful drawing that line.

Just because to you it's "just another bejeweled clone" doesn't make it so. A
layperson would probably think that HN is "just another reddit", and that's
not any more valid.

Luckily (or unluckily depending on which side you are on) we already have laws
that define this for us. Trademark, copyright, and patents. For better or for
worse, that's legally what we have to work with.

------
sjbase
There could be a couple of problems at work here:

1: Google is only banning developer accounts, not the violating developer
themselves (policy problem).

2: Google is trying to ban the actual developer, but failing at identity
assertion (technical/data problem).

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otterley
Mods, can you please change the title to identify the app? The current title
is linkbait.

~~~
pearjuice
That would be fraudulent advertising.

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EwanG
Basically the poster suggests that because SongFlip was created by a former
Google employee that it's getting special treatment.

~~~
BooneJS
Googlers and Xooglers receive no special treatment. No current Googler would
risk getting fired to help a Xoogler. No conspiracy theory required.

~~~
aikah
> Googlers and Xooglers receive no special treatment. No current Googler would
> risk getting fired to help a Xoogler. No conspiracy theory required.

Unless the person knows he is a future Xooglers. Come on, corruption is
everywhere and employees do bad things all the time. The employee(s) may be
paid for doing that.

------
ksk
I don't think Google even cares about these things. Its kind of like the usual
Google fail of "allowing" spammy link farms to rise in their search results.
The problem is algorithmic solutions suck compared to basic human judgement on
a lot of things. This happens to be one of those things.

------
robhu
What is the difference between the Apple process and the Google process such
that Google has this problem and Apple does not?

Or is this also a problem that occurs on the Apple store?

~~~
venomsnake
Google approve everything and relies on stakeholders policing.

Apple is black box which you should pray to not reject it for whatever reason
and get incomprehensible rejection message in your mailbox.

~~~
st3v3r
Stakeholders have absolutely no power to do any policing, though.

And Apple's rejection messages are far from incomprehensible. They point to
what you need to change.

~~~
venomsnake
Well they do have responsibility to police - if app x infringes company y
content it is up to y to notify google. Same as with any breaking of
guidelines.

As a person that has had dealings with apple submission process and dev
accounts - lets agree to disagree. These people wanted credit card information
faxed to them.

------
kyrra
It looks like the app has been removed from the AppStore again. The linked
URL[0] for the app returns "URL not found" now on the play store.

[0]
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hypermedia...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hypermedia.songflip)

------
georgiecasey
i'm involved in this Android ban game myself, i don't think this guy is
pulling connections with old Google colleagues. i noticed myself Google
getting a bit slower banning accounts of previous indiscretions. they'll have
another wave soon and knock out loads of apps and accounts.

i'm also skeptical that OP in that reddit thread is really a soundcloud
musician. more likely he's a jealous Android dev and snitching on his
competition!

------
BooneJS
If Googlers read HN, and if the rumors of a popular Google-Internal Meme
Generator are true, I suspect this problem may go away soon.

~~~
s_kilk
> popular Google-Internal Meme Generator

Never heard of this before. So Google (allegedly) have their own 4chan-alike
service internally?

~~~
ocdtrekkie
They do.

[http://gizmodo.com/5946769/google-workers-make-internal-
meme...](http://gizmodo.com/5946769/google-workers-make-internal-memes-for-
their-inside-jokes-at-google)

------
logicallee
to poopsintub:

earlier you wrote "Here I am using images I have a right to use, but they
banned me anyway." (Which I thought was informative). You got downvoted, and
replied in frustration to yourself writing "Someone can't leave a comment on
here without being down-voted by the same asshole every time? Fucking tools."
But quickly deleted both comments.

Not before I started writing the response below to it though. I hope you see
it!

>Here I am using images I have a right to use, but they banned me anyway.

>>Someone can't leave a comment on here without being down-voted...

Your handle is poopsintub - HN isn't reddit, which is a very good thing. Here
in general commentators need to be more substantive and civil in all of their
comments. (Which is what makes this place good.)

I would suggest making a more normally-named account (I'm only referring to
the name you chose here, not the content of your posts.) By the way I had a
glance at your posting history, it's substantial and good. HN has a policy
about being civil, so anyone who even glances at your username will see that
you are already not being civil, since poopsintub can't be part of civil
discourse - a politician can't say those words on TV at all. This is probably
what causes you to attract downvotes anytime you don't make a clearly
informative post. (I don't think there's anything wrong with any of your posts
at all, I looked through two pages, it's 80% very good and a few kneejerk
reactions you might want to tone down but I didn't see anything that bad.)

I'm not a moderator here just a commentator like you. If you said something
even slightly controversial (you really haven't) you might get so many
downvotes that you would be hellbanned, so that nobody sees your posts except
you. That really shouldn't happen.

So I would suggest picking a more neutral name and toning down the discourse a
little. For example, in writing this comment I went from "make a normal
account" to "I would suggest making a normal account", and adding the other
information to make it more informative. Hope this helps.

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z3t4
> making over $30,000 per day in ad revenue

I wonder where he pulled that number from.

~~~
bitmapbrother
It's probably based on speculation due to the download numbers. Come to think
of it, most of his theories are based on speculation.

------
oldmanjay
Not a great submission. How is something so poorly written getting this many
points? Do people just need some moneyhate as a rally point today?

