February 28, 2026
Banhammer boomerang
Addressing Antigravity Bans and Reinstating Access
Google’s banhammer backs off as devs clap, rant, and meme
TLDR: Google is auto-unbanning recently banned accounts and adding a quick form to restore access, but second violations mean permanent bans. Commenters split between applause for transparency and frustration over delays, token rules, and the growing power of private platforms to lock people out of essential tools.
Google just hit the undo button on a wave of Antigravity bans that accidentally kneecapped access to Gemini CLI (a command-line tool) and Code Assist. The crowd? A wild mix of relief and rage. Some cheered the quick reset and new “click-to-unban” form as the grown-up move. cogman10 called it the “correct way,” while iepathos threw shade at rivals: “refreshing” compared to Anthropic’s ban chaos.
But the drama didn’t stop there. cube00 called out the timeline—“A week? Try 16 days”—and dropped receipts with a forum link. Meanwhile, jascha_eng lit up the token debate, arguing subs should let users spend their quotas however they want, not be forced into specific apps. And xrd zoomed out to the big-picture anxiety: when mega-companies wield ban power, are we letting private platforms play policy cop? The new system is simple—email notice, review the Terms of Service (ToS), promise not to bypass limits, and get auto-unbanned—until strike two, which means permanent ban. Cue memes about the banhammer boomerang, jokes about “recertifying your soul,” and nervous laughter over who really controls the kill switch. It’s a reset, a warning, and a reality check—served with spicy comments.
Key Points
- •Antigravity ToS enforcement led to bans that disrupted some Gemini CLI and Gemini Code Assist users.
- •A system-wide automated unban is underway to restore access, typically within one to two days.
- •A new self-service reinstatement process requires users to recertify ToS compliance via a Google Form.
- •Accounts will be automatically reinstated after form submission; a second violation triggers a permanent ban.
- •Using third-party tools to piggyback on Gemini CLI’s OAuth to access backend services is explicitly prohibited.