Google Glass Developers Prohibited From Charging for Apps or Displaying Ads

Declan McCullagh:

Google, which relies on advertising for some 95 percent of its revenue, doesn’t want ads on its hotly anticipated Google Glass eyewear.

The blanket prohibition came in the fine print of a policy made public this evening, which says “Glassware” developers may not “serve or include any advertisements” and they “may not charge” users to download apps for the device.

Sounds like a shit sandwich to me, but perhaps these restrictions are only for the here and now, while Glass is still a developer preview. (I’ll also point out that prohibiting third-party apps from showing ads is not the same thing as not displaying ads period. Could be that Google is reserving all Glass advertising for itself.)

★ Tuesday, 16 April 2013