Donald Trump’s social media app Truth Social has been barred from Google Play Store due to insufficient content moderation, a Google spokesperson told Axios on Tuesday.
“On Aug. 19, we notified Truth Social of several violations of standard policies in their current app submission and reiterated that having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to go live on Google Play,” the spokesperson said.
In particular, Google’s concerns relate to content such as physical threats and incitements to violence, sources told Axios.
Google will not let the app go live until the content issues are addressed. The spokesperson said Truth Social acknowledged Google’s concerns and said it would work on addressing these issues.
But, Trump Media and Technology Group CEO, former Republican congressman Devin Nunes told a different story last week. Nunes claimed that the Android version of the app was ready and waiting on Google’s approval.
“When are we going to be available on Android? Well, look, that’s up to the Google Play store. We’re waiting on them to approve us, I don’t know what’s taking so long,” Nunes said on the “Just the News Not Noise” podcast. “It sure would be nice if they would approve us.”
According to CNBC, if Truth Social does not address these issues with content moderation 44% of smartphone users in the US, will not be able to download the app.
