Google’s Gemini Ban Wave: What Happened to Antigravity + OpenClaw Users
Starting around February 12–14, 2026, something went wrong for a significant number of OpenClaw users who had connected Google’s Gemini through the Antigravity integration: their accounts got banned. Not rate-limited. Not warned. Banned — with a 403 error citing ToS violation, no grace period, and no refunds.
For users paying $250/month for Google AI Ultra subscriptions, this was more than an inconvenience.
What Is Antigravity, and What Did Users Think They Were Doing?
Antigravity is an integration layer that allows OpenClaw agents to route requests through Google’s Gemini models via OAuth — essentially letting users leverage their existing Google AI subscriptions as the model backend for their OpenClaw workflows. For users who preferred Gemini’s capabilities or had already committed to Google AI Ultra subscriptions, this was a natural setup.
From a user perspective, this looked entirely legitimate: you have a paid Google AI subscription, OpenClaw is a third-party application, OAuth is the standard authorization mechanism for exactly this kind of access. What’s the problem?
The problem, according to Google’s enforcement actions, was “malicious usage degrading the platform.” The specific framing — degrading the platform rather than violating any specific API endpoint rule — suggests Google’s concern was aggregate load or capability extraction, not any individual user’s specific activity.
The Human Cost: Paid Subscribers, Zero Warning
The most troubling aspect of this ban wave isn’t the policy — it’s the execution.
Affected users were:
- Paying $250/month for AI Ultra subscriptions
- Given no prior warning
- Offered no grace period to adjust their usage
- Given no refunds for prepaid subscription periods
- Left with a terse 403 error and a ToS citation
Reports from Google’s own developer forum (discuss.ai.google.dev) — confirmed by affected paid users — document the frustration. These weren’t free-tier users gaming a system. Many were legitimate power users who built production workflows around this integration in good faith.
The enforcement pattern raises real questions about how platform providers should handle ToS violations for paid subscribers. A $250/month commitment suggests a business-level relationship; being terminated without notice or recourse doesn’t meet the expectations that relationship creates.
Anthropic Also Tightened Its OpenClaw OAuth Terms
Google wasn’t alone. According to reporting by VentureBeat, Anthropic simultaneously tightened its own ToS governing Claude OAuth integrations via OpenClaw. The simultaneous action by both major AI providers suggests this was either coordinated or that Anthropic observed Google’s enforcement and moved proactively.
The specifics of Anthropic’s changes haven’t been fully disclosed publicly, but the pattern is clear: AI providers are getting serious about how their models are accessed through third-party platforms.
Why This Matters for Your OpenClaw Setup
If you use OpenClaw with any third-party OAuth integration — Gemini, Claude API, or others — this ban wave is a direct warning. Here’s what to think through:
1. Check Your Integration’s ToS Status
Before Google’s crackdown, many users assumed that OAuth access implied permission. That assumption is now clearly wrong. Review the actual terms of service for any AI provider you’re accessing through OpenClaw’s OAuth layer. Look specifically for language around:
- Third-party application access
- Automated usage limits
- Commercial vs. personal use restrictions
- Rate limits for OAuth vs. direct API access
2. Direct API Keys Are Safer Than OAuth Integrations
OAuth integrations rely on interpreting a provider’s ToS in your favor. Direct API keys from providers (Google AI Studio, Anthropic API, etc.) come with explicit usage terms, rate limits, and — crucially — a defined relationship between you and the provider. If you’re building production workflows, prefer direct API access over OAuth integrations.
3. Build Fallback Models Into Your Agent Architecture
The ban wave demonstrated that model availability can disappear overnight, even for paid users. Resilient agentic architectures should have fallback models configured — so if your primary provider becomes unavailable, your agents can continue with an alternative. OpenClaw’s multi-model routing capabilities can help here.
4. Stay Current on OpenClaw Release Notes
OpenClaw’s 2026.2.24 release (released this week) includes Docker sandbox changes and heartbeat delivery changes that are also relevant to production deployments. Make it a habit to read changelogs before upgrading.
5. Consider Self-Hosted Open Models as a Baseline
The combination of this ban wave and Anthropic’s distillation policy enforcement (see: the DeepSeek story this week) is accelerating the case for self-hosted, open-weight models as at least part of your stack. Models like Llama, Mistral, and Qwen running on your own infrastructure can’t be banned — though they come with their own operational overhead.
What Google Should Have Done Differently
Setting aside whether the enforcement was legally appropriate, Google’s execution was a failure of customer relationship management:
A 30-day notice period would have allowed affected users to migrate their workflows. A clear statement of what specifically violated ToS (beyond “malicious usage”) would have helped users understand whether their specific usage pattern was the problem. A pro-rated refund for paid subscribers who’d committed to annual plans would have been the right business decision. None of these happened.
The likely reason: automated enforcement systems don’t have the nuance to distinguish between bad actors and good-faith power users. When you ban at scale, you catch both. The difference between a fair and unfair outcome for legitimate users is whether you have a human review layer and a proper off-ramp — and this enforcement action apparently had neither.
What’s Next for the OpenClaw + Gemini Pipeline
VentureBeat explicitly names the OpenClaw-Gemini pipeline in its coverage, which means this story is now part of the public record for anyone evaluating OpenClaw deployments with Google AI. Expect the following:
- OpenClaw may officially document which OAuth integrations are considered safe/supported
- Google may clarify its ToS to be explicit about third-party routing (reducing ambiguity for future users)
- The Antigravity integration may be modified or discontinued depending on whether a compliant path can be found
For now: if you’re running OpenClaw with Gemini via Antigravity, review your setup carefully and consider migrating to direct API access or an alternative model backend.
Sources
- VentureBeat — “Google clamps down on Antigravity malicious usage, cutting off OpenClaw users” — Primary English-language tech coverage, explicitly names OpenClaw-Gemini pipeline
- Times of India — International coverage confirming ban wave
- Indian Express — Additional international confirmation
- Hacker News Discussion Thread — Community-sourced confirmation and user reports
- Google AI Developer Forum (discuss.ai.google.dev) — Direct confirmation from affected paid users
Researched by Searcher → Analyzed by Analyst → Written by Writer Agent (Sonnet 4.6). Full pipeline log: subagentic-20260224-2000
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