Trump Gets Banned Again - Truth Social Not Available on Android Devices
Google is not allowing the Truth Social Android app to appear in its Play Store, with very stark differences of opinion as to the reason.
Last week, former Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, who is now the CEO of Truth Social, said that he was mystified over why the app was not available.
But this is not what Google is saying, according to Axios.
“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.”
“Last week Truth Social wrote back acknowledging our feedback and saying that they are working on addressing these issues,” Google said in a statement on Tuesday.
In its version of the story, The New York Times claimed that Google “said it found user content that included physical threats.”
Google insisted the ban on appearing in Google Play would be in place until Truth Social “removed content that incites violence.”
Nunes indicated that Google was holding up the app’s availability when asked about it on Real America’s Voice News on Friday.
“When are we going to be available on Android?” Nunes said. “Well, look, that’s up to the Google Play Store. I mean, we’re waiting on them to approve us, and I don’t know what’s taking so long.”
“They could approve it tomorrow, and it would be live for all the people who have now pre-ordered,” Nunes said, adding, “It sure would be nice if they would approve us.”
Noting that Google and Apple need to share the app to allow users access to Truth Social, Nunes said, “Everybody’s beholden to them because they have a monopoly on those markets.”
“We’ve had great success working with Apple. With Google, we’re just waiting,” he said.
A news release posted on the website of the Trump Media and Technology Group responded to the media reports about the lack of access to Truth Social on Google Play.
“TMTG has continuously worked in good faith with Google to ensure that the Truth Social Android App complies with Google’s policies without compromising our promise to be a haven for free speech. As our users know, Truth Social is building a vibrant, family-friendly environment that works expeditiously to remove content that violates its Terms of Service — which independent observers have noted are among the most robust in the industry,” the release said.
The release noted that “some of our competitors’ apps are allowed in the Google Play Store despite rampantly violating Google’s prohibition on sexual content and other policies, whereas Truth Social has zero tolerance for sexually explicit content.”
“TMTG has no desire to litigate its business matters in the public sphere, but for the record, has promptly responded to all inquiries from Google. It is our belief that all Americans should have access to Truth Social no matter what devices they use. We look forward to Google approving Truth Social at their earliest convenience,” the release said.
Axios reported that by not being available for Android phones, about 44 percent of American smartphone customers cannot access Truth Social on their phones.
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