AdSense leak - article

AdSense leak controversy heats up as Google denies favoritism, theft allegations | ZDNet

Some quotes from the text:

"After that point there was a running gag amongst fellow co-workers where we would walk by each other and whisper “Don’t be evil, pft!” and roll our eyes.

"Internal changes to the policy were constant. They wanted to make it more efficient and streamlined. They saw its current process as having too much human involvement and oversight. They wanted it more automated and less involved.

Additional discussions here: Google AdSense leak? | Hacker News
A comment from that discussion

"In a meeting with Adsense employees, by an Adsense employee, I have been told that when fraud is discovered, the account is not cut off and they are not immediately notified. I was told that they wait as long as possible before cutting off the account. Do you deny this?

After attending several meetings with Adsense employees I believe that 90% of Adsense accounts could be considered in violation of at least one policy. Several employees have been told me increase revenue by means which I considered policy violations. Once I saw another Adsense publisher directly confront two employees directly because one said strategy X was a good way increase revenue and another said it was a good way to be banned. They could not resolve this basic issue."

Mutt Cutts defending adSense and calling the article a fake:

Everything about this post strikes me as a conspiracy-laden fake, from the typos to wrong terminology to untrue policies to the lack of specific names of people. I passed this pastebin to the ads side to confirm for sure, but I would treat this as completely untrue.

Added: Yup, I’m hearing back from multiple people on the ads side that this is pretty much untrue from start to finish.

Also notice that the “rmujica” account that submitted this item has never submitted any other story or written any other comment on Hacker News before today."

What do you think? How will this (fake or real) leak affect us? How will Google AdSense react?

yes, especially if you get banned in the middle of the month, you will loose last month’s payment + 15 days from this month + future earnings from your existing users. That’s why I was trying to find a replacement for admob, but still without success…

I 've never earn 5000$/month so it will be safe :). Admob and Google is the big giant and it can not replace now. Hope they don’t do like the leak said.

I have always had my reservations against using Admob. I do not make crazy money from them either. But this article makes things look really bad for Google Adsense.

I think it’s Fake.

Admob pay developers not from their pockets but from the money they get paid by advertisers. So it doesn’t matter how big the publisher’s check is, it will always be covered by the advertiser. The idea that they’d sacrifice all future business with a publisher for the sake of one months payment is just silly no business in their right mind would do that.

Also the way this article is written just screams “angry banned publisher”

Well, it sounds like it is constructed from different theories people had. Some bits are believable, some almost certainly made up. What is more interesting is some of the comments (here again: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7667976 ), that shed some light on the inner workings of adsense like the one I have quoted - there was someone on this forum who wrote that he had listened to the advices from an adMob representative how to monetize his apps better to the point that he… got banned. It will always be a mystery how exactly everything works there, but maybe such posts will make Google open up a bit for publishers/developers and maybe fix some of the huge issues (like complete lack of ways to contact adsense/admob teams or appeal).

Mutt Cutts last sentence is a bit strange though - of course a whistleblower would use a new account. What else would he do?

PS. @dav800 - I get wire transfers from Google Ireland, not the advertisers.
PS.2. One effect of this might be that Google will start banning immediately, not waiting for the end of the month. :wink:

Have developers reported here that they eventually get the money due them when they are banned - or is that balance just sucked back up by Google ?

If Google does not settle it’s dues correctly with developers - it tends to support the general thrust of that Adsense whistleblower.

Regarding Adsense - I have heard - I don’t know if it was on this forum or generally - the huge problems website owners have if they are banned - all their earnings are essentially taken back by Google - I don’t know if that situation is so now as well or not - but the general behavior is similar to how many developers have described interaction with Google regarding app bans or developer bans - i.e. they get little response out of Google.

Now it could be these are real manipulators - who were skirting Google policies - but as outlined here - there is something morally or ethically wrong about banning a particular person’s identity FOR LIFE. It just smacks of fascism or something - as previously outlined in other articles on this forum.

However it is situations like this whistleblower - which are needed - or one could say they were an INEVITABILITY - given how Google had been acting - and the atmosphere of cloak and daggers that tends to prevail when a company is tight-lipped about exactly how it judges infringement by developers and websites etc.

So maybe it will lead to more openness.

I do not see why developers and others would care to be giving excuses for Google - when Google is in a strong financial and strategic position to be doing so themselves. And if developers etc. are aware of the types of one-sided judge/jury/executioner type powers which are being exercised by Google, they would be wanting to hear Google themselves - rather than others trying to speak so Google does not have to speak.

Well, You should ask Allen Wong about his problems with AdMob - they seized $100.000 on his AdMob account. And yes - they never paid it since it happened 2 years ago.

I think for small developers google is rude and we are at high risk.