Google bans major Chinese developer from Play Store

Google has removed Do Global’s Android applications from the Play Store. The developer is said to have been guilty of advertising fraud, which illegally boosted the revenue from the Play Store.

The move has not been widely announced by Google, but Buzzfeed News reports that Google has started removing applications from Do Global. That probably happened as a result of an investigation by Buzzfeed News into the applications of the Chinese application maker; shortly thereafter, six applications were removed from Do Global.

The investigation shows that the applications do not always make clear that they are developed by Do Global, and in addition, advertising fraud was allegedly committed, whereby ‘clicks’ were generated in a malicious way, thereby fraudulently boosting revenues.

According to Buzzfeed News, 46 Do Global applications have been removed from the Play Store at the time of writing. However, a source said that Google is going further, and eventually wants to remove all applications from the Chinese company. In addition, it is no longer possible for Do Global to use the Google advertising network.

For a long time, Do Global was a subsidiary of the Chinese tech giant Baidu, but is now a separate company. However, Baidu still has a large share in Do Global. The application maker has not yet responded to the ban. Do Global is said to have reached hundreds of millions of downloads with its applications in the Play Store.