[leros]

I built a startup that depended on YouTube API access for critical functionality. I worked with Google to get a high API quota approved. It took months. They knew everything about my system architecture, product user flows, revenue models etc. It was insane how involved they were. I got everything approved, launched, and got my API access revoked a week later. Same thing as OP. They wouldn't tell me why and told me it was a final decision. They stopped replying to my emails after that.

I no longer use Google Cloud or anything managed by Google. Having a faceless company be able to take down your business and not even talk to you about it is too much of a risk for me.

[Sargos]

This is the principle reason we need decentralized versions of apps like YouTube as you cannot safely build companies or big projects on top of them as your entire organization's existence can be turned off arbitrarily through no fault of your own. Businesses are hard enough to run at the best of times without the threat of your foundation shifting under you.

[fsflover]

> This is the principle reason we need decentralized versions of apps like YouTube

Not apps but services. See https://joinpeertube.org.

[chii]

> It was insane how involved they were.

and yet, not insane enough to have a contract signed with them to allow the use of the api?

[leros]

I had agreed to terms of service and was a paying Google Cloud customer. The API itself was free to use if they granted you quota.

Maybe if I was a larger corporate customer, I would have had enough spend to have a sales rep and the ability to contact humans and get a more official contract, but that wasn't available to me as a small business.