Last night, a friend explained to me something I already knew: This Facebook terms-of-service kerfuffle was much ado about nothing. What, exactly, did Fbers think would happen? Facebook would assume control of the world’s supply of 25 things? And this move wouldn’t pave the way for the next Myfacester?
There was no use taking the news seriously, but news it was: on Twitter, on blogs, on away messages, and of course, on Facebook. And as the outrage of the week, it sucked up a lot of the oxygen that might have been better spent hyperventilating over Google’s announced Android Market terms of service. From MocoNews.net (via the Washington Post:
From time to time, Google may discover a Product on the Market that violates the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement or other legal agreements, laws, regulations or policies. In such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your Device at its sole discretion. If that occurs Google will make reasonable efforts to recover the purchase price of the Product, if any, from the originating Developer on your behalf. If Google is unable to recover the full amount of the purchase price, it will divide any recovered amounts between the affected users on a pro rata basis.
There’s a benevolent reading of this and a malevolent reading of this. Google will not be regulating the Android app market, so if you have a problem, you need to take it up with the third party. But if Google sees a proliferation of “bad apps” it reserves the right to zap them remotely.
The ominous portent is buried in vague legal language: “Google may discover a Product on the Market that violates the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement or other legal agreements, laws, regulations or policies.” Whose laws? China’s laws? Google has deferred to China in the past. “Legal agreements” and “policies” sounds expansive enough to cover a handshake over monetizable content.
Maybe this isn’t big news in Washington because everyone uses Facebook and no one uses Google Android. Any readers have this phone?
Photo used with permission under a Creative Commons license with Flickr user secretlondon123
