Google Play Takes Down 45 Apps by Android App Giant Cheetah Mobile

On Feb 22, Google announced on its blog that it removed nearly 600 apps from the Play Store for the practice of delivering “disruptive” ads. The move is part of a broader plan to crack down on ad fraud, where advertising displays are too aggressive thus impairing user experiences. Among the banned apps, there are 45 apps developed by the Chinese Android app Giant Cheetah Mobile, which is all the apps the company had on the platform.

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In response, Cheetah issued a statement pointing out that the standards of Google’s Security team had not been made public in advance. “We are in the process of positive rectification, while Google still unilaterally removed our apps,” read the company’s statement.

Cheetah’s stock price has been heavily impacted by the unexpected take-down, falling sharply on Feb. 21. Previously, one of Cheetah’s apps has been removed by Google from the store in Dec 2019, while other apps from Cheetah remained untouched.

Cheetah said it was actively appealing to Google’s headquarters, hoping they would provide more specific requirements, rather than hastily taking actions against the company.