Twitter’s unexpectedly banned some popular third party apps from using its APIs, citing violations of the social network’s terms and conditions.  The suspended Twitter clients from Bill Gross’ UberMedia network include UberTwitter, UberCurrent and twidroyd.  Twitter’s posted a note explaining that UberMedia’s clients compete directly with Twitter’s own tools, suggesting users download their own official apps instead.

Twitter says the violations pertain to a “privacy issue with private Direct Messages longer than 140 characters, trademark infringement, and changing the content of users’ Tweets in order to make money.”  A follow-up note from TechCrunch cites Gross as being caught off guard with Twitter’s actions, saying “We just talked to Twitter and discussed the various issues they raise. It took us by surprise because they didn’t raise them before. We started making the changes.”

One such change includes a name modification, updating UberTwitter to UberSocial (twidroyd has already undergone a name change to avoid a clash of branding).  For the privacy and monetization issues, there might be some deep-seeded modifications and conversations that need to take place.  The name change is probably something UberMedia was going to have to do at some point anyway, as Twitter has generally been getting more serious about its brand, its third party market and control over both entities.

It wouldn’t be the first time a third party app has been shunned for policy violation, even if said policies are confusing or taken out of context.  And it seems the burgeoning social and mobile sectors are ripe for such sudden changes, as they span arenas that have yet to fully establish their business models and revenue generation, with platform opportunities changing every year.

Apple and Google’s recently modified subscription options for in-app payments are one example of how a new platform can cause rapid changes within a money-generating structure.  Apple in particular has become notorious for blocking apps from its software marketplace, citing little more than terms violations.  Google doesn’t take kindly to competition either, as it banned GameStop’s arcade app shortly after its launch, driving the third party app maker to update its format, and potentially restructuring its monetization efforts as well.  After all, isn’t that what this is all about?