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Re:FairEmail stopping development after Google falsely flags... by paulnpace on Thursday May 19, 2022 @11:04AM (#31435618)
Thank you for the play-by-play. Had a hard time distilling this.

Maybe it's just me, but the developer at least appears a bit too emotional and impulsive. I'm not clear why this warrants shutting down, but it's not like there is an objective standard on such a decision.

Re:FairEmail stopping development after Google falsely flags... by g_p on Thursday May 19, 2022 @12:43PM (#31436936)
I think it seems like this is a "straw that broke the camel's back" situation - Google's refusal to actually deliver any kind of sensible level of basic communication with developers seems to be the root cause of this.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/app-5-0-fairemail-fully-f...

When they simply copy-paste the same message (with no further clarification or content), it's a perfect example of a chronically broken system.

Google operates at a scale where they are unlikely to face any incentive or enforcement that requires them to follow the laws around this in Europe, which require meaningful individual interaction from marketplace operators. That they can ignore these laws with impunity effectively shows that (in this context) the rule of law is dead.

In my view, it is very hard to blame the developer - they appear to have been trying to understand the issue in good faith, and receiving absolutely nothing of any sense from Google. And their lack of any kind of meaningful human support is hopefully a "canary in the coalmine" for what will happen in future if we don't get a handle on automation of processes and the harm this can cause to real people and businesses.