Google Asks Android Developers To Show Sensitivity To Disasters and Atrocity 96
Mark Wilson writes: Today Google revealed an updated version of its Google Play Developer Program Policies. There aren't actually all that many changes or additions, but those that are present are quite interesting. Google is clamping down on the problem of impersonation, making it clearer that it is not permissible to mislead users by imitating other apps, making false claims, or suggesting endorsements that do not exist. One of the more intriguing changes to the document sees Google calling on developers to show sensitivity to evens such as natural disasters, war, and death. Any apps or other content that attempt to benefit by exploiting such events are explicitly banned.
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Take for examples, the Islamic State
To the people who got their head cut off by the IS terrorists, it's atrocity
But to people outside of the affected zone, the islamic barbarism might be used to parodize the so-called 'religion of peace'
What Google is saying is that we must be sensitive to atrocities ... does it mean that we can no longer parodying the so-called 'peaceful feature' of islam?
I also have a problem understanding those:
Google Play Developer Program Policies [google.com]:
[...]
* Hate Speech: We don't allow content advocating against groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
* Sensitive Events: We don't allow content which may be deemed as capitalizing on or lacking reasonable sensitivity towards a natural disaster, atrocity, conflict, death, or other tragic event.
[...]
Can a f
Re:Atrocity for some is parody for others (Score:5, Insightful)
Translation: Don't be an asshole
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What defines an asshole? (besides the glitter and smell)
Re:Atrocity for some is parody for others (Score:5, Insightful)
If you write a game that involves knocking down houses in Nepal that survived the recent earthquake, you're an asshole. Don't expect it to last long before being removed.
If you write a game called "Kill the Gays", you're an asshole. Don't expected it to last either.
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If you write a game called "Kill the Gays", you're an asshole. Don't expected it to last either.
My game titled "Arab homosexuals trying to save themselves from murderous Muslims killing them in Syria and Iraq in 2015 Anno Domini" is o.k.?
" [...] * Hate Speech: We don't allow content advocating against groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. * Sensitive Events: We don't allow content which may be deemed as capitalizing on or lacking reasonable sensitivity towards a natural disaster,
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It's great that you assume being a pussy who do not want to "offend" anyone, but I'm not. From time to time, I have to offend people. I have to offend Muslims and other religious people. I have to offend black or Asian people. I have to offend feminists. I have to offend parents. From time to time, I even have to offend white atheist males who do not have kids (although those do not count, since everyone think it's okay to offend them). In fact, I don't know a single group I won't offend at one time of anot
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You are not *wrong*, Billy. You're just an asshole.
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I feel the need. The need to provide a competing to Google play store site where any and all activities will be allowed.
Google has their right to control their private property, which is what their site is. Other people may have different opinions on their own sites. Of course the phone or tablet has to be unjailed from Google prison.
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By "unjailed" you mean changing a setting?
It's under Settings/Security and it's called "Unknown Sources"
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Fortunately I can still play Stalag 1 on the C64 emulator.
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Translation: Don't be an asshole
I believe they actually phrase it "Don't be evil. [wikipedia.org]"
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And in a surprise related development, Google has now banned Google.
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Ignorance? Who is ignorant? (Score:1)
Ever heard of Umm Qirfa?
Never heard of the name?
Read this link --- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Read how that old noble woman was killed
Read who was the one ordering the murder of that old lady
Extremism?
Comparing to the extreme cruel way that old noble lady was murdered, the beheadings carried by the ISIL assholes become lame and mild mannered
You don't even know what islam is!
Re:Cool (Score:5, Funny)
That's why this is going to be a tough sell. Android developers are used to disasters and atrocity, having developed android applications.
Honestly, Google, what was the Android team smoking? When working on a Blackberry port feels like a breath of fresh air, you know you've made some serious mistakes.
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I think he meant the development API
Why are Millennials such sissies? (Score:2, Interesting)
Why do Millennials tend to be such sissies? Why do they care so much about "hurt feelings" and "safe spaces" and all sorts of wimpy stuff like that?
Why do we have a whole generation of people who can't put up with even the smallest bit of criticism, and who can't tolerate anything that's even slightly negative?
Why do these Millennials so badly crave to suppress anything and oppress everyone who they have labelled as "offensive"?
Why do we have millions upon millions of 20- and 30-year-olds, who should be wel
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Insightful questions!
Here's another one: why are you such a whiny bitch?
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Only a Millennial or a Boomer would consider perfectly good questions like those to be 'whining'. If you guys aren't tossing around false accusations of 'racism' or 'sexism' or 'intolerance' or 'bullying', then you're accusing anyone you don't like of being 'whiners'.
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Purple Barney silhouette targets (Score:3)
Barney the Dinosaur fucked it up for a whole generation. Thank god he's dead so the cancer doesn't spread.
Ever see a bunch of cops grabbing guns and ammunition and hurrying to their cars? I have. It wasn't a riot or other incident. It was the day when it was announced that the shooting range just received purple Barney silhouette targets. All of a sudden everyone seemed to need some time on the practice range. Ever see grown men singing a Barney song in unison while firing their weapons. I have, its unforgettable. Guys had to put their gun down and step back from the firing line to take a laugh break. Sadly it
Well, the hippies, not boomers in general (Score:3)
So no more... (Score:2)
Based on the amount of anti-bin-laden crap that was around the office after Sept 11, there's clearly a market for anti-bogeyman propaganda.
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Sure, they can restrict it. But we, using our freedom of speech, are saying they shouldn't.
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Wow you are a fucking moron. Google's street view has infringed on millions of Americans and they're being sued for it. Nobody had the opportunity to opt-out, and good for them to stand up against big brother Google.
Re:Google is Big Brother . . . (Score:5, Insightful)
Are you kidding? You aren't forced to have anything to do with Google. It is their company, they can restrict whatever they want.
Do mobile app developers get to chose where their customers come from? Between the Apple store and Google you can say it is all free will and App store vendors can do what they want with their own software and infrastructure yet they have effectively become gatekeepers of execution and if they don't like what your doing you can expect an audience of crickets.
All I will say is enjoy your kings and monopolies people. If your not willing to defend the right of assholes to be themselves without censorship then don't be surprised when one day you too get fucked over by the same system.
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Not really.
They can put whatever restrictions they like on the Play store. It's theirs, after all.
If you want to distribute some app that Google doesn't like for some reason, put it up on another repository like F-Droid.
ripping off other apps (Score:4, Interesting)
maybe i'm behind the news curve but...
is it still the case that a lonely developer can release an app he or she slaved over lovingly for months, only to see it ripped off and released by someone else who games the ranking system and reaps all the profits?
that seems to be the real threat to their app ecosystem
https://play.google.com/about/... [google.com]
doesn't seem strong enough to me
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you'd think google would be interested in cracking down on that, as that is a definitive deterrent against contributing to their app ecosystem
So where is the line? (Score:1)
Taking down games because they have confederates, represented by their flag? Fail
Taking down games or apps which are clearly intended to be hateful, I'm not sure I even have an example probably because I've never gone looking for them... a confederate flag app that drops the n-bomb when you rub the stars the right way? dunno what an example would be. But OK, I can see that.
So where's the line? Is it just going to be wishy-washy and wander all over? We don't need Google to help with that.
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a confederate flag app that drops the n-bomb when you rub the stars the right way?
Conservative porn is still porn. That wouldn't be allowed in the Play store.
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Conservative porn, is that porn with Sarah palin as actor?
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Isn't that a horror movie?
Re:So where is the line? (Score:4, Insightful)
Taking down games or apps which are clearly intended to be hateful, I'm not sure I even have an example probably because I've never gone looking for them... a confederate flag app that drops the n-bomb when you rub the stars the right way? dunno what an example would be. But OK, I can see that.
Sticks and stones. Freedom isn't about agreeing with nice people.
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Sticks and stones. Freedom isn't about agreeing with nice people.
Right, it's about being able to do business with who you choose, and not who you don't. Oh wait, is that a different narrative? Silly me. I think Google has an absolute right to kick whatever they want off their app store. I think they're stupid dicks if they kick stuff off on the basis that its success is predicated upon the suffering of others, because down that road lies... nothing. But they're a public company subjected to massive scrutiny everywhere in the world, so I understand that they have some unf
Re: turnabout is fair play (Score:1)
Done. You need me more than I need you.
Well, it could be worse... (Score:1)
At least Google isn't having a knee jerk overreaction like Apple banning Civil War games because they have a friggin Confederate flag in them.
Re: Well, it could be worse... (Score:1)
Google did tha yesterday. Where were you?
I'll start (Score:1)
Slashdot beta isn't so bad after all.
so ... (Score:1)
Google Asks Android Developers To Show Sensitivity To Disasters and Atrocity
lol! iphone, eat this!
Don't forget the odds! (Score:1)
Want to make light of natural disasters and death? (Score:1)
There's an app for that.
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It's called SimCity
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It's called SimCity
Hate to break it to you but Sim City is fictional.
Foolishness (Score:2, Informative)
They'll probably use this to ban some app that's helping to get materials and supplies into disaster areas using the pricing mechanism. Whenever a disaster happens, demand for goods skyrockets past supply, prices rise to guide allocation and outsiders desire to risk capital and safety to get supplies in, seeking profit. Then State actors castigate them, threaten to imprison them (dog-whistle: "price gougers"), and so the supply dries up again. Every economist recognizes how this works, but politicians s
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I thought Google was smarter, though.
They did just censor search results for merchandise branded with a particular logo that has a negative connotation for most enlightened humans, despite the fact that other merchandise branded with similarly offensive logos is still easily found through them.
I'm beginning to lose a lot of faith in Google. I think the business idiots have run the engineers out of there.
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What, they decided to censor Civil War games too?
What about apps like Uber's? (Score:2)
Uber usually turns off surge pricing in extreme situations. Say they didn't for some occasion - will Google kick them off?
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I wonder, would Google let APK sell an .apk? Harassment and stalking are kind of a no-go in their microcosm.
Android disasters and atrocity (Score:2)
Disasters and atrocity... exactly describes Android Lollipop on Nexus 7.
They can fucking prescribe sensitivity when they stop rendering perfectly good customer owned equipment nearly unusable. How could they ever have released such a miserable crock of shit?
apps or content benefiting by expoitng disasters (Score:1)
Developers explain why apps need access (Score:1)
rules (Score:2)