Apple apologizes to the developer of an indigenous language app, Sm’algyax Word, for removing his app from the App Store and wrongfully accusing him of violating its policies. The developer, Brendan Eshom was informed that due to his dishonest and fraudulent acts, the company had removed his app.
Released on Google Play and the App Store, Sm’algyax Word app was designed to preserve the indigenous language, it provides meanings of words and phrases. With 600 downloads, the app made it to the top charts in the Education category on the App Store but was removed unexpectedly. To keep its digital marketplace safe for users, Apple constantly filters the App Store for malicious apps. But it should give the developers concrete evidence of a violation and a chance to be heard so that innocent developers like Eshom don’t suffer.
Apple apologizes to the developer of an indigenous language app for allegations of dishonest and fraudulent acts
Developer Eshom, a member of the Ts’msyen First Nation community, told Global News that he reached out to Apple for clarification several times after termination of his app, but all his attempts were unsuccessful. The Cupertino tech giant responded after, he reached to Consumer Matter, an affiliate of Global News. Apple’s response reads,
Maintaining the integrity of the App Store is a responsibility we take seriously to ensure the safety of our customers and give every developer a platform to share their brightest ideas with the world. Unfortunately, this developer’s app, which is a great example of how technology can be used to bridge cultural understanding, was mistakenly removed from the App Store.
We regret this error and apologize to Mr. Eshom for the inconvenience this caused him. We have since reinstated his developer account and app, and will continue our efforts to improve our processes to ensure this does not happen again.
Although the issue has been rectified, the company did not provide evidence of fraudulent acts or precise reasons for removing it in the first place. It is also concerning to learn that Eshom had to go an extra mile to get the company’s attention. Recently, the developer of FlickType, Kosta Eleftheriou discovered several scam apps on the App Store which are robbing users of millions of dollars by publishing fake reviews and ratings of their non-functional apps to gain legitimacy and fool Apple.
