Disputes on Mobile App Stores: What Game Development Studios Should Do When Their Apps Get Blocked
In the modern digital economy, the owners of the largest app stores — Apple and Google — have become the gatekeepers of the mobile market, controlling developers’ access to consumers.
Apple and Google are gatekeepers not only in the economic sense but also in the legal sense. Legally, their status is established in the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA). Economically, they control market access through ownership of the stores, making decisions on whether apps and developers can be admitted to the market — an opportunity that would otherwise be unavailable due to the absence or insignificance of alternative options. In this article, we will discuss the available strategies and tools for developers.
This situation has arisen as a result of both objective economic reality and, paradoxically, the very legal acts adopted to regulate the activities of digital intermediaries.
The legal acts adopted to regulate the digital space — in particular, the EU Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) — have imposed significant technical, legal, and economic obligations on digital intermediaries. In addition, legislation introduced a safe harbour regime aimed at protecting platforms from liability for user-generated content, which in practice granted platforms broad powers to actively control such content. In effect, part of the quasi-judicial function of granting access to the market has been delegated by the state to the platforms themselves.
Platforms implement these obligations through policies, standards, and practices, which — given the difficulty of challenging platform decisions — are of fundamental importance to developers.
According to Apple, in one year it rejected about 1.7 million app submissions and blocked 118,000 developer accounts. In 2024, Google Play prevented the publication of 2.36 million apps that violated its policies and banned 158,000 developer accounts.
The main reasons for Apple’s refusals were: design and functionality issues, spam, rating manipulation, and copyright infringements.
In the mobile app sector, there are two main categories of disputes, each requiring different strategic approaches.
1. Conflicts with the platforms themselves
The most common reasons for such disputes are violations of data privacy requirements (GDPR, CPPA, COPPA), detected fraudulent activities, design and functionality issues, use of unlawful content, or use of manipulative design patterns in advertising.
2. Disputes between developers
In three out of four cases, these involve intellectual property infringements. This includes copying game elements, using similar names or graphic designs, or violating copyright.
In addition to these main categories, there are more unusual situations: internal corporate disputes between co-founders, disputes with content rights holders (musicians, labels), conflicts with companies from traditional industries holding software trademarks, employment disputes with staff, and disputes with contractors.
Strategies for Handling Publication Refusals
When a company faces a platform block, management should act systematically and in stages.
Stage 1 — Contact support.
Experience shows that most cases can be resolved within a month if you present a concrete plan to address the issues and start implementing it. Platforms are generally willing to cooperate with developers who demonstrate good faith and readiness for dialogue.
Stage 2 — Formal appeal.
This is effective only if there was a genuine error on the platform’s side. Under the DSA, appeals must be reviewed by humans rather than automated systems, increasing the chances of an objective review.
For European companies, additional tools are available. DSA Transparency Requests make it possible to obtain detailed explanations for the blocking — information that can be critical for building an effective defence.
Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution under the DSA has proven largely ineffective in practice, as platforms are not obliged to comply with arbitration decisions.
Last resort — competition authorities.
A refusal to publish can be viewed as a restriction of market access, but this is a lengthy and resource-intensive process, justified only after all other options have been exhausted.
DMCA: Complaints About App Blocking
Disputes between developers most often occur within the framework of the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act), which has become the de facto standard for most digital platforms.
The process is as follows: a report of infringement is filed, followed by possible requests for clarification, then either the app is blocked or the complaint is rejected. There may also be a negotiation stage between the parties with the platform acting as an intermediary.
The owner of the blocked app can submit a counter-notification, after which the complainant has 10–14 business days to file a lawsuit. If no lawsuit is filed, the app is unblocked.
It is important to understand that most reports are unfounded. Common reasons for false accusations include the use of similar standard assets from game engines, implementation of similar game mechanics, or mere similarity of concepts without actual copying.
However, the risk is significant: several app blocks usually lead to a complete developer account ban and an inability to register a new one.
Prevention as the Basis of Security
Preventing conflicts is far more effective than resolving them. A comprehensive pre-launch audit should include an intellectual property clearance review, compliance with regulatory requirements, adherence to platform policies, and compliance with personal data protection laws.
Checking the game’s name for similarities with competitors’ trademarks, reviewing graphic elements for possible copying, and analysing the licence terms of open-source components — all of these measures can help avoid costly disputes in the future.
The modern mobile app market resembles medieval trade routes with only two bridges — and the owners of those bridges decide what will cross to the other side and what will be left behind.
Given this reality, publishers are advised to invest in legal preparation, comprehensive audits, and professional legal support before releasing an app. A possible app block can limit access for three or more weeks, significantly affecting revenue. Moreover, frequent app blocks usually result in a full account ban along with all associated apps, preventing the developer from creating a new account.
Therefore, it is better to address risks in advance rather than trying to resolve them later through support channels.
Author: Kamal Tserakhau
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