Android TOS reserves right to remotely kill applications

Just when you thought Android was all lollipops and rainbows, it turns out they’re still keeping some control of the G1. Some snooping around the Android terms of service has revealed a particular tidbit on what Google (NSDQ: GOOG) can do with the smartphone’s software:

“Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement … in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion.”

On the one hand, that does sound like a fair precaution to protect users from malicious or seriously buggy software while still leaving the Android Market open. On the other, it does show that Google doesn’t give developers entirely free reign. Maybe that’s a good thing, and a balanced approach, but there are bound to be people unhappy that Google is backpedaling just a teeny bit on their supposedly open platform. I guess the next thing to do is take a look at the developer agreement and see if there’s anything especially unreasonable in there that apps might get pulled for violating…

[via ComputerWorld]