Google Barring Truth Social From Play Store Due To ‘Insufficient Content Moderation’

Last week, Truth Social CEO Devin Nunes claimed that it was “up to Google” to approve the App for download on the Play Store platform, claiming in a statement to Just the News‘ John Solomon: “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 continued, adding: “We have built this from the ground up, brick-by-brick, so that we can’t be canceled. But the two companies that we have to work with specifically for the apps, which is the Google Play Store and Apple to be in their app store – everyone is beholden to them.”

Not so fast, says Google – who told Axios that the app hasn’t been approved for distribution due to “insufficient content moderation.”

“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,” a spokesperson said, adding “Last week Truth Social wrote back acknowledging our feedback and saying that they are working on addressing these issues.”

More via Axios:

Details: A source says that Google’s concerns relate to content such as physical threats and incitements to violence.

• Truth Social does have “sensitive content” banners that appear before some posts that read “This content may not be suitable for all audiences,” but content that threatens violence remains on the platform.
• For example, in response to a post from former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, an account called “TheVictim24” posted last week, “It’s be nice if you people weren’t just okay with the military and police stage a rebellion and framing civilians. Zero people trust the police and if the military comes in, we’ll kill them. Someone admit this nation needs to be nuked because it’s satanic.”
• That post wasn’t labeled.

Workaround: Truth Social could offer Android users a version of its app via its website or other channels — an option not available to developers on Apple’s iOS mobile operating system — but the company has not done so.

The big picture: Truth Social’s technological challenges come amid broader financial and legal disputes.

• The company owes one of its tech vendors over $1.6 million, Axios has confirmed, and the blank-check company looking to merge with it and take it public is under investigation by federal securities regulators.

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As Axios concludes, since Truth Social isn’t available on Android OS, around 44% of US smartphone users can’t download it.