Google kicks off to a major developer of the Play Store with over 600 million installations

Google has begun to purge the Play Store of apps created by DO Global, a Chinese company specializing in Android applications and partially backed by Baidu, after a report from BuzzFeed News said that it was committing advertising fraud massive.

According to a separate report released Friday by BuzzFeed, dozens of DO Global apps have disappeared from the Play Store (46 at the time of the article) and its apps "no longer offer an inventory of ads to buy through Google's AdMob network." The ban has also been extended to the advertising products of the Internet giant. BuzzFeed wrote:

Google would not specifically comment on the deletions, but a knowledgeable source said the company was planning to ban DO Global as a whole, and that other deletions would follow.

"We are actively investigating malicious behavior, and when we discover violations, we take steps, including to prevent developers from monetizing their app with AdMob or publishing on Play," said a spokesman for Google.

DO Global had about 100 apps on the Play Store, with more than 600 million installations before the start of the bans, and claims to have more than 250 million active users a month, according to BuzzFeed. This is one of the biggest crackdowns Google has ever made against an app developer.

The company sent BuzzFeed a statement acknowledging "irregularities" in its advertising activities and declaring "fully understand and accept Google's decision":

"First of all, we want to thank Buzzfeed for your articles. We fully understand the seriousness of the allegations. Therefore, after reading the reports on our applications, we immediately conducted an internal survey on this topic. We regret to note irregularities in the use by some of our products AdMob advertising. Given this, we understand and fully accept Google's decision. In addition, we actively cooperated with them by conducting a thorough review of all relevant applications, "the statement said.

Researchers at the Check Point and Method Media Intelligence security and fraud companies first told BuzzFeed that they had discovered that at least six of the DO Global applications contained code designed to click fraudulently on ads (such as the popular Selfie Camera and Total Cleaner apps), which could In addition, drain users' batteries and speed up data. Most of these applications also hid the developer's identity from the end users, indicating that they were developed by "Pic Tools Group (Photo Editor & Photo Grid & Collage)". According to BuzzFeed, researchers also said that the Selfie Camera app had a code that could allow the attribution and fraud of apps, which would allow developers to falsely claim reward payments for the "free" app. activation of downloads from other applications, as well as many unrelated features not disclosed to users.

BuzzFeed previously said that Chinese companies Cheetah Mobile and Kika Tech, which collectively reported more than 700 million active mobile users per month, engaged in fraudulent advertising schemes. Another of its investigations revealed what she called a sophisticated system of advertising fraud "involving more than 125 Android apps and websites connected to a network of front companies and front companies in Cyprus, Malta, in the United States. British Virgin Islands, Croatia, Bulgaria and elsewhere ", potentially losses in the hundreds of millions.

In March 2019, some 200 apps from the Play Store were infected with Check Point's malware "SimBad", with more than 150 million downloads reported.

[BuzzFeed News]