AdMob CEO says Apple's iOS terms are not in best interest of consumers

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Responding to Apple's changes to the iOS developer agreement, the chief executive of AdMob said Wednesday that he believes developers will lose money and consumers will have access to fewer free and low priced applications on the iPhone.



This week it was revealed that Apple had modified section 3.3.9 of its iOS developer agreement stating that user data can only be obtained with the consent of the user, and only provided to "an independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads. It specifically states that advertising services that also develop or distribute mobile devices and mobile operating systems are not allowed.



That excludes AdMob, the largest mobile advertising firm on the Internet, which was recently acquired by Google for $750 million. Google is also responsible for the Android mobile operating system.



Omar Hamoui, founder and chief executive of AdMob, posted on the company's blog Wednesday in response to Apple's changes.



"This change threatens to decrease -- or even eliminate -- revenue that helps to support tens of thousands of developers," Hamoui wrote. "The terms hurt both large and small developers by severely limiting their choice of how best to make money. And because advertising funds a huge number of free and low cost apps, these terms are bad for consumers as well."



"Let's be clear," he continued. "This change is not in the best interests of users or developers. In the history of technology and innovation, it's clear that competition delivers the best outcome. Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress."



Hamoui said he and others with AdMob plan to speak with Apple to express their concerns about the impact of the changes to the iOS developer agreement.



Apple's changes to its developer agreement this week aimed to tweak a revision first made in April. When iOS 4 was introduced, Apple updated the terms of its mobile operating system developer agreement, restricting outside advertising agencies from collecting information about users.



Last week at the D8 conference, Chief Executive Steve Jobs revealed the changes were made to protect user privacy, and were not meant to be anticompetitive. In an on-stage interview, he singled out Flurry Analytics, which, unbeknownst to Apple, was collecting information about devices through App Store software.



Apple's issue from Flurry came from the fact that the firm boasted in January that it had tracked a number of devices on Apple's campus running an unreleased version of iOS. Those devices turned out to be Apple's then-unannounced iPad.



On Monday, section 3.3.9 was modified again, this time to state that applications "may not collect, use, or disclose to any third party, user or device data without prior consent."
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 188
    sofabuttsofabutt Posts: 99member
    Of course what he means by that is: "Apple's new terms are not in our best interests."
  • Reply 2 of 188
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    Sure sounds to me like Apple keeping personal data out of the hands of Google will be good for consumers. Also sounds like it will be great for competition in mobile advertising. What's bad for Google is good for everyone else.
  • Reply 3 of 188
    Wah! Wah! Wah! Somebody change my diaper!
  • Reply 4 of 188
    anonymouseanonymouse Posts: 6,857member
    I particularly liked this bit:



    Quote:

    Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress.



    Like AdMob represents technological progress. More like technological exploitation.
  • Reply 5 of 188
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    great! i don't want a phone that looks like the tokyo skyline.
  • Reply 6 of 188
    justflybobjustflybob Posts: 1,337member
    Dear AdMob CEO,



    Would you like some cheese with that whine? Opps, somebody beat me to it.



    Anyway, it's all FUD, as in Elmer.
  • Reply 7 of 188
    tyrnighttyrnight Posts: 24member
    ok Ill say it..



    NO ads are in the best interest of the customers.
  • Reply 8 of 188
    iansilviansilv Posts: 283member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sofabutt View Post


    Of course what he means by that is: "Apple's new terms are not in our best interests."



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by IronHeadSlim View Post


    Wah! Wah! Wah! Somebody change my diaper!



    Yep- That is about as well put as anyone could do!



    It amazes me that these companies release these statements that show that no matter what, they always cling to what is best for them. Adobe doesn't care about "open" systems- if they did they would open source flash! Or make it free to develop for! All they care about is their pocket book.



    Just like Adobe, AdMob is bitching about a potential loss of revenue, nothing more.



    These cheap attempts at public appeal are a sign of the times, and fortunately Apple is steadfast in its commitment to the old style of business- actually making better products.
  • Reply 9 of 188
    str1f3str1f3 Posts: 573member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sofabutt View Post


    Of course what he means by that is: "Apple's new terms are not in our best interests."



    Agreed. If it hurts your business then just say it. It's a legitimate concern. Be a man and don't hide behind the consumer angle.
  • Reply 10 of 188
    Google is starting to realize that competing with Apple isn't as easy as they thought!
  • Reply 11 of 188
    applestudapplestud Posts: 367member
    "Let's be clear," he continued. "This change is not in the best interests of users or developers. In the history of technology and innovation, it's clear that competition delivers the best outcome. Artificial barriers to competition hurt users and developers and, in the long run, stall technological progress."



    translation: "wahhhhhh!!"
  • Reply 12 of 188
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    Naturally, by excluding AdMob, marginally fewer free or low-priced apps will be available, but those apps are likely to be in a very small niche or have poor functionality. Otherwise the developers could well afford and would have the skill to use iAds or some other acceptable advertising technology.



    In other words, the exclusion of AdMob should not matter at all to the vast majority of users.



    Poor Google!
  • Reply 13 of 188
    djrumpydjrumpy Posts: 1,116member
    Competitor doesn't like competition.



    Film at 11...
  • Reply 14 of 188
    foo2foo2 Posts: 1,077member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by MacHead75 View Post


    Google is starting to realize that competing with Apple isn't as easy as they thought!



    No doubt a lightbulb went "Bing!" in Eric Schmidt's head when he found out about the new terms.
  • Reply 15 of 188
    ilogicilogic Posts: 298member
    Quote:

    Responding to Apple's changes to the iOS developer agreement, the chief executive of AdMob said Wednesday that he believes developers will lose money and consumers will have access to fewer free and low priced applications on the iPhone.



    Translation: Awe, damn....
  • Reply 16 of 188
    dr millmossdr millmoss Posts: 5,403member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by iansilv View Post


    Yep- That is about as well put as anyone could do!



    It amazes me that these companies release these statements that show that no matter what, they always cling to what is best for them. Adobe doesn't care about "open" systems- if they did they would open source flash! Or make it free to develop for! All they care about is their pocket book.



    Just like Adobe, AdMob is bitching about a potential loss of revenue, nothing more.



    These cheap attempts at public appeal are a sign of the times, and fortunately Apple is steadfast in its commitment to the old style of business- actually making better products.



    One constant in human nature is self-interest. In many respects the tendency to look after one's own interests is a good thing. Where this becomes absurd is when a company thinks we should be looking after their self-interest, even at the expense of our own.
  • Reply 17 of 188
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tyrnight View Post


    ok Ill say it..



    NO ads are in the best interest of the customers.



    The sentiment is understandable, but ultimately, this is probably not true, UNLESS customers want to pay higher prices for goods because there's no money coming in to manufacturers to promote and sell their products.



    It's all a dance and knowing our cue.
  • Reply 18 of 188
    That part of what he said is true. Until iAd has comparative revenue--- it is more difficult for devs to release free games.
  • Reply 19 of 188
    shubiduashubidua Posts: 157member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tyrnight View Post


    ok Ill say it..



    NO ads are in the best interest of the customers.



    I don't think so. How much would you like to pay for you content? Reminds me of a saying: there is no such thing as a free lunch.



    So if you want free applications as a customer, you have to pay the developer in other ways. One way is to do so through allowing ads and viewing them.



    I'm not a fan of ads either, but as a developer I know how difficult and time consuming it is to build software, so I know that the developers need money to make good or great apps. Soon I will be able to afford to support developers through paying them cash, as for now, I would prefer to do so through ads, as in ad supported apps.



    Bottom line, no ads might be in your best interest if you are willing to pay for your apps, but this is certainly not the case for everybody.
  • Reply 20 of 188
    mbarriaultmbarriault Posts: 237member
    He seems to be completely unaware that the terms merely prevent gathering usage statistics. AdMob can operate perfectly just fine under the new agreement, putting ads into apps and developers getting paid for it. They just won't be able to take usage statistics about iPhone and give that data to Google to give them an unfair advantage in competing in the mobile OS market.
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