Donald Trump’s social media platform Truth Social has not yet been approved for distribution on the Google Play Store due to insufficient content moderation, a Google spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Truth Social launched in the Apple App store on 21 February, but the delay on Google Play marks a setback for the app. Android phones comprise about 40% of the US smartphone market.
“On August 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,” Google said in a statement.
Google said it had expressed concerns to Truth Social about violations of its Play Store policies prohibiting content such as physical threats and incitement to violence.
Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment, but in a press release said that it had “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”.
It added: “Moreover, 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.”
News of the Android delay was first reported by Axios.
Truth Social restored Trump’s presence on social media more than a year after he was banned from Twitter and Facebook following the January 6 riots at the Capitol, after he was accused of posting messages inciting violence.
