Trump’s Truth Social Banned From Google Play Store Due To Content Moderation Concerns
Donald Trump’s social media app “Truth Social” in Apple’s App Store on an iPhone 12.
Christoph Dernbach | Image Alliance | Getty Images
Truth Social, the upcoming Twitter competitor created by the Trump Media and Technology Group, remains unavailable on the Google Play Store.
According to a report by Axios, Google said the app lacks effective systems for moderating user-generated content, which violates the store̵[ads1]7;s terms of service.
“On August 19, we notified Truth Social of several violations of the standard guidelines in their current app submission and reiterated that having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms for any app to be published on Google Play,” the tech company said , which is owned by Alphabet, told Axios in a statement.
Google did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
The restriction means that Android users, who make up 44% of US smartphone users, cannot download the app. Google won’t let the app go live until the content issues are resolved. Truth Social acknowledged Google’s concerns and said it would work to address those issues, according to Axios.
Trump Media and Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes told a different story. The former lawmaker, who was one of former President Donald Trump’s staunch allies in Congress, said the decision is up to Google and not dependent on Truth Social’s policies.
“When are we going to be available on Android? Well, look, it’s up to the Google Play store. We’re waiting for them to approve us, I don’t know what’s taking so long,” Nunes said on “Just” . the News Not Noise podcast. “It sure would be nice if they would approve us.”
Trump Media and Technology Group made the app available for pre-order on Android in early August. It is available on Apple’s App Store. Google’s YouTube has suspended Trump’s channel.
The restriction is one of several obstacles that the former president’s app faces. Truth Social was created as a “free speech” alternative to Twitter, after Trump was banned from the platform for his tweets related to the January 6 Capitol riot. Hundreds of the president’s supporters stormed the building that day to try to block Congress from confirming Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump, who had about 88 million followers on Twitter, has about 4 million followers on Truth Social, where he continues to push false claims about the election. He faces a criminal investigation into secret government documents he took to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and is considering another run for the White House.
Trump Media was to go public through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company. The deadline is September 8, although DWAC is pushing for a delay of up to a year. DWAC warned shareholders that a decline in the former president’s popularity could harm the app and that the acquiring company may have to be liquidated without delay.
DWAC scheduled a shareholder meeting on September 6, two days before the current merger deadline. Shares in the company, which hit $97 in March, are down about 50% to $25 so far this year.
