Google’s Play store is declining to distribute Donald Trump’s Truth Social app, saying the network still needs to resolve the fact that it hosts violent threats and other content that goes against Google’s standards.
Alphabet Inc.-owned Google said it notified Truth Social of its violations and how to fix them on Aug. 19. “Having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
Trump Media and Technology Group said that Truth Social was a family-friendly and vibrant community, which “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,” the company said in a statement.
“It is our belief that all Americans should have access to Truth Social no matter what devices they use.”
Truth Social is former President Trump’s social network of choice. Trump was banned from Twitter and suspended from Facebook and Instagram after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
While the app is careful to remove some potentially offensive content, such as sexual images, it has played host to violent speech, such as calls for civil war to defend Trump’s honor.
Digital World Acquisition Corp., the special purpose acquisition company merging with Trump’s venture, touched a session low on the news. The stock tumbled 51% this year through Monday.
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