Google lets Donald Trump's Truth Social into Play Store
Google had initially declined to approve the app over content moderation concerns.
The Donald Trump-backed Truth Social is live in Google’s Play Store following a months-long delay due to concerns over its content moderation policies. The two sides had been going back and forth about the app’s approval since late August, according to Axios.
Truth Social launched in Apple’s App Store back in February, but up until now Android users either had to use the web version of the service or sideload the app. Google had reportedly flagged content moderation issues on the app, including physical threats and content that incited violence.
Google requires that apps with user generated content have policies to prevent abusive behavior, like violent threats, as well as mechanisms for enforcing those rules. Truth Social’s service apparently didn’t meet those standards when it first tried to launch on Android in August. But the company has apparently now resolved those concerns.
“Apps may be distributed on Google Play provided they comply with our developer guidelines, including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those that incite violence,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
Truth Social isn’t the only app that’s received extra scrutiny over this policy. Google cited the same conditions when it took Parler out of its app store last January. The app was reinstated last month.
