Google Now Censoring Android Apps!

Google Takes the Dark Path, Censors AdBlock Plus on Android

In a shocking move, Google has recently deleted AdBlock Plus from the Android Play Store. This is hugely disappointing because it demonstrates that Google is willing to censor software and abandon its support for open platforms as soon as there's an ad-related business reason for doing so.

Until now, the Internet and software development communities have relied on Google to be safely on their side when it comes to building open platforms, encouraging innovation, and giving users maximum choice about how their computers will function. But with today's news, that commitment to openness suddenly looks much, much weaker.

Read the rest of the article here: www.eff.org...

This is very disturbing news. Personally I rely on a number of privacy apps and add-ons that help to protect my identity online and prevent tracking without my consent. It is my right to control what is and sent sent to and from my computer, since I own my computer; same goes for my smart phone. Privacy software is becoming increasingly important in this day and age.

We are entering a new age of censorship that is based on protecting profits rather than censoring political ideologies, and is being perpetrated by corporations rather than governments, and I think this is a lot more dangerous. You can't trust anyone who bases content censorship decisions on financial motives; these kinds of people are the least trustworthy and in my opinion, the lowest form of scum. They hide behind their same tired argument of "we're a private company so we can do whatever we want" which in their minds, apparently absolves them of any moral responsibility and intellectual integrity. (No doubt the shills will be on here soon to beat that dead horse.)

I'm just glad I have enough of a facility with technology to know how to root devices and install 3rd party apps, so this won't directly affect me, but not everyone is as privy with technology, and I feel a great disservice has been done to Android users who might care about what kind of content is sent to and from their devices.

I dont think it will stop those apps that were censored by google to appear elsewhere on the web for ppl to use......

Originally posted by minor007
I dont think it will stop those apps that were censored by google to appear elsewhere on the web for ppl to use......

That's addressed in the article, as well as my post. The problem is, almost all "end users" get their content from the Play Store, because they effectively have a monopoly. Most people don't even know how to install an app from a 3rd party source, and many aren't even aware they can. It is nearly impossible for an app to gain wide usage without being released on the Play Store.

I'm not surprised as this benefits Google which makes most of its money off of ad revenue. It's not long before they block the software from their Chrome Browser.

What got me a little upset was Google removing two applications a few months ago because people complained about them being "racist". They were called something like "Make me Asian, and "Make me Indian". All you did was take a headshot of yourself into a cutout/background image that was influenced by Asian and Indian culture. It honestly wasn't anything bad at all. I have no doubt that there's a possibility that Google will end up with a Market that's subject to app approval, keeping a lot of apps out of the Play Store for the dumbest reasons.

What's good about Android is that we can find the .apk files for any application online and install it without Google telling us whether we can or cannot, so this shouldn't be much of an issue.

Originally posted by FidelityMusic
I'm not surprised as this benefits Google which makes most of its money off of ad revenue. It's not long before they block the software from their Chrome Browser.

Yeah, it is going to suck having to switch back to Firefox. I like Chrome a lot more, but hey, if it comes down to it... Firefox it is.

Explain something to me if you can. This only happens here at ATS.

A couple of times a day I am redirected by something called "adking" and I end up at the Play Store. It stops the page load completely and I end up at Google.

Is this something I should report to the staff here?

Google says no to android apps written by a company that has been involved in this sort of thing since the beginning, almost, but leaves their chrome browser with their crap version of it.

google, this is the last straw.

I don't give a damn, if I'm not using google to search the web, then it has no business talking to my pc and requesting info.

It doesn't make me feel less inclined to get in there and rid myself of anything google, at all, this act of arrogance on their part. It makes me MORE inclined to weed this garden till its tilled soil and nothing but the stones I leave.

Given everything this monster of a conglomerate has done in the last few years, it is time there were alternatives - viable ones and not half thought simple efforts - put in place so that people can thrust their middle finger far into the 4'th wall so that google can see and smell it up close.

reply to post by winofiend


Thanks for the laugh.

Google is starting to distance themselves from the blogs too. They are trashing Google Reader (for RSS feeds) come July.

Maybe Google is just going to for all out profit now.

Originally posted by 123143
Explain something to me if you can. This only happens here at ATS.

A couple of times a day I am redirected by something called "adking" and I end up at the Play Store. It stops the page load completely and I end up at Google.

Is this something I should report to the staff here?

I get that too.
Constantly. Then it opens my iTunes store directly to some game called Candy Crush Saga, which is free, but I still don't want it.
If I catch it happening first, it's preventable, but it's a pain in the butt
It takes ya right out of ats.
That shouldn't be acceptable.

If I was on my computer instead of my phone, I wonder if it would take me to google? It's that same "adking".

Isn't Google's motto "Don't be evil"? This appears to be exactly the kind of thing I consider evil. Corporate profits put before ethics is wrong.

Google has been pretty open in stating the reason they offer so many free services is to be proactive in protecting their ad business from potential competitors like Apple, MS, ect. Having Apple or MS act as a gatekeeper in essence between Google and users isn't a very smart move, hence Android.

reply to post by snowspirit


Thanks for the reply. At least I'm not the only one with the problem. This only started within the last couple of weeks.

Originally posted by Metallicus
Isn't Google's motto "Don't be evil"? This appears to be exactly the kind of thing I consider evil. Corporate profits put before ethics is wrong.

See, that's just the thing. They don't seem to be able to see evil in their own damn mirror. I mean, who does? But, still--you'd think with everybody constantly telling them how evil they've gotten, they'd either drop that motto... or start to recognize the problem.

Or maybe they could just add a few words: "Don't be evil--unless it's prodigiously profitable."

reply to post by Ex_CT2


So you guys want free stuff and you attack the source of the income that gets you your free stuff...

Google might think you're being the greedy ones... and give you some ads to indulge in.

ATS is in a similar boat as the owners have stated before.

reply to post by Turq1


Way to oversimplify things. Viewing static ads is very different from having your personal data tracked and shared across multiple corporations without your consent. Adblock has its PrivacyList feature which protects you from non-consensual tracking and is a separate feature from element-hiding. And element-hiding only makes a difference if the add is PPV (pay per view), because if it's PPC (pay per click) it isn't going to generate any revenue from me anyway. If ads are PPV, you're paying for them whether you view them or not, because every time you buy a product at the store, you're paying for a small portion of their advertising budget, whether you viewed the ad or not. As far as what sites get compensated, it's easy to whitelist sites you choose to support (ATS, for example, is whitelisted in my ABP).

These ad blocker apps only work on rooted android devices anyway as they need access to the hosts file in order to modify it too block them. Thank god for xda developers

Originally posted by Turq1
reply to post by Ex_CT2

 

So you guys want free stuff and you attack the source of the income that gets you your free stuff...

Google might think you're being the greedy ones... and give you some ads to indulge in.

ATS is in a similar boat as the owners have stated before.

edit on 3/15/2013 by Turq1 because: (no reason given)

Show me the alternatives? Google didn't start off with the ad agenda they have so eagerly become entrenched with. They started off as a service. FREE. No charge. to NOT be evil. Everyone said yes.

Now they're slipping in m$ traps at every corner now they've become a monopoly.

Give me the alternative... to the damn alternative.

The hide of such a company to buy out, monopolise, and then restrict everything they get their hands on.

They've made sure that it is simply not feasible to have an alternative.

I tire of these people who come along and say "But you get it for free wah wah stop complaining they deserve their money wah wah"

If your product is that crap that it cannot stand on it's own price tag, and requires you to make a profit by using advertisements to completely unrelated products, then STOP MAKING CRAP PRODUCTS.

Stop justifying the inability of your rubbish to sell, by forcing people to look at adverts. If one crap app doesn't get it, 50 will.. who needs to make something people WANT.. just make 50 idiot proof apps that work just enough to get people to use it once.

Oh the poor programmers.. poor google...

Let me go clean my super sonic jet and take the yacht out for a spin, then I'll get back to you on how sad it makes me.

reply to post by kingears


I was gonna say the exact same thing till I saw your post. Root is required for this to work. Honestly I never knew adblock plus was on the play store. I use adfree. Just checked and it has also been removed from the play store. A quick Google search and you can still find the raw .apk any way.

well the market makes most its money from adds. i would rather keep the price of paid apps lower by allowing adds to be in the background.