Apple bans Google mobile app ads
Apple has changed the terms of its application developer agreement to prevent apps from serving users with ads via the Google-owned AdMob network, prompting another round in the war of words between the US giants.
In a letter posted on the company website, AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui hit back at Apple claiming the new conditions potentially threatened revenues for app developers.
“This change threatens to decrease – or even eliminate – revenue that helps support tens of thousands of developers,” he said.
“The terms hurt both large and small developers by severely limiting their choice of how best to make money.”
The altered terms and conditions offered by Apple permit developers to serve ads from networks other than its own iAd network and then feedback this data to their mobile advertising network.
However, a clause in the Apple agreement also states the data must be fed back to an “independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads”.
Apple goes on to state that: “an advertising service provider owned by, or affiliated with, a developer or distributor of mobile devices, mobile operating systems or development environments other than Apple would not qualify as independent.”
Since AdMob was recently acquired by Google, it no longer qualifies as independent under the new terms because Google’s Android operating system is openly available to device manufacturers.
Apple has reported that it has already taken over $60m from advertisers that will have campaigns on its iAd network when it launches next month.
This story first appeared on newmediaage.co.uk
