Google Unhappy with Changes to Apple’s iPhone Developers Agreement

Google said today that recent changes to Apple’s developers agreement would effective bring to a halt Google’s advertising tools for the iPhone. According to Google this would create ‘artificial’ barriers to competition.

On Monday Apple made certain changes to its agreement, which now appears to prohibit certain third-party advertising agencies from collecting certain usage data from iPhone applications. This would in effect hamper rival advertising agencies’ ability to target their ads and make competition with Apple’s own ad network virtually impossible.

It was said that Google will meet with Apple to raise its concerns in regards to the new changes to the developers agreement.

Initially the developers agreement prohibited data about app usage to be transmitted to any outside analytics companies, which assisted agencies in targeting their ads. The amended agreement allows user data to be transmitted only to ‘an independent advertising service provider whose primary business is serving mobile ads’, one that is not affiliated with ‘a developer or distributor of mobile devices or mobile operating systems’.

The new agreement in effect bars Google, which designed the Android mobile operating system as well as the Nexus One Smartphone.

Google also recently acquired AdMod at an amount of $750 million. AdMob is one of the world’s leading mobile advertising companies on the Internet. This deal was approved by the FTC who commented that Apple’s entry into the ad market would increase competition.

During April 2010, Apple introduced iAds, its own advertising network, which will sell and host ads on the iPhone platform.