Google BLOCKS downloading Trump’s Truth Social on Android devices due to ‘lack of content moderation’
- Donald Trump’s Truth Social app is not yet on the Google Play Store because it claims that there is not enough content moderation on the platform.
- The app launched on Apple’s App Store in February and at one point was ranked #1 on the list of most downloaded apps.
- Trump created his alternative social media platform after Twitter kicked him off the platform following the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill.
- Nearly every tweet Trump sent in the final weeks of his presidency was marked with warnings that the posts contained “disputed” or “misleading” claims.
Donald Trump’s social media platform has not yet been approved for download on Android devices due to a lack of app content moderation.
Truth Social was made available for download on Apple’s App Store in February, but an Alphabet Inc spokesperson said insufficient moderation has prevented it from being approved for the Google Play store, according to Axios.
While Trump Media & Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes says the decision to make Truth Social available on Android devices is up to Google, the company has put the onus on the platform.
“I don’t know why it’s taking them so long,” Nunes said.
Alphabet said it sent a notification to Truth Social on Aug. 19 stating that the platform is in “several standard policy violations in its current app submission.”
Google noted that “having effective systems for moderating user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to be activated on Google Play.”
“Last week, Truth Social responded by acknowledging our feedback and saying that they are working to address these issues,” Google said, according to Axios.
Donald Trump’s Truth Social app is not yet on the Google Play Store because parent company Alphabet Inc. claims there isn’t enough content moderation on the platform.
The app launched on the Apple App Store in February.
The delay in bringing Truth Social to the Google Play store marks a significant setback for the app, which launched on Apple’s App Store on February 21.
At one point after launch, the app hit #1 on the list of most downloaded apps, and at least 3 million people have downloaded Truth Social.
Android phones comprise about 40 percent of the US smartphone market. Without the Google and Apple stores, there’s no easy way for many smartphone users to download Truth Social.
Truth Social reinstated Trump’s social media presence more than a year after he was banned from Alphabet’s Twitter Inc, Facebook and YouTube following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots, after he was accused of of posting messages inciting violence.
TMTG pledged to provide an “engaging, censorship-free experience” on Truth Social, appealing to a base that feels its views on such hot-button issues in American life as vaccinations and the outcome of the 2020 presidential election have been erased from the mainstream. technological platforms.
TMTG is working with Hive, a San Francisco-based company that moderates AI-based content, to flag sexually explicit content, hate speech, bullying, and violent content on the app.
Human moderators decide what to do with content that Hive has flagged. While the extent of TMTG’s human moderation efforts is unclear, according to a post on the TMTG website, the company is hiring a “community content manager” whose job will include reviewing “user-posted content.” at Truth Social to verify that it adheres to the Community Principles.’
Trump created his alternative social media platform after Twitter kicked him off the platform following the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill. The indefinite suspension came after multiple warnings of rule violations in which Trump claimed the 2020 election was stolen.
Nearly every tweet Trump sent in the final weeks of his presidency was marked with warnings that it contained “disputed” or “misleading” claims.
Trump’s social media platform faces a host of problems, including with its merger, efforts to obtain a trademark and the accumulation of significant debt.
TMTG plans to go public through a merger with blank check firm Digital World Acquisition Corp. But the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are investigating the merger, according to documents filed by DWAC.
Truth Social owes web hosting service RightForce $1.6 million, and people familiar with the dispute say the former president’s platform has made no payments since March.
Now RightForge is preparing to take legal action, according to Fox Business.
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) also rejected Trump’s application for Truth Social this month, finding that two other companies have similar names and that granting the trademark would create a “likelihood of confusion”.
The patent office said the company’s name was too similar to Vero: True Social, an app-based social media platform, and Truth Network, a Christian radio broadcast network.
