Donald Trump’s social media app “Truth Social” in Apple’s App Store on an iPhone 12.
Christoph Dernbach | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Truth Social, the would-be Twitter competitor created by Trump Media and Technology Group, stays unavailable on the Google Play store.
In accordance with a report from Axios, Google said the app lacks effective systems for moderating user-generated content, which violates the shop’s terms of service.
“On Aug. 19, we notified Truth Social of several violations of normal policies of 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 continue to exist Google Play,” the tech company, which is owned by Alphabet, told Axios in a press release.
Google didn’t immediately reply to CNBC’s request for comment.
The restriction implies that Android users, who make up 44% of smartphone users within the U.S., cannot download the app. Google is not going to let the app go live until the content issues are addressed. Truth Social acknowledged Google’s concerns and said it could work on addressing these issues, based on Axios.
Trump Media and Technology Group CEO Devin Nunes told a unique story. The previous lawmaker, who was one among former President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies in Congress, said the choice is as much as Google and never depending on Truth Social’s policies.
“When are we going to be available on Android? Well, look, that is as much as the Google Play store. We’re waiting on them to approve us, I do not know what’s taking so long,” Nunes said on the “Just the News Not Noise” podcast. “It sure can be nice in the event that they would approve us.”
Trump Media and Technology Group made the app available for preorder on Android in early August. It is obtainable on Apple’s App Store. Google’s YouTube has suspended Trump’s channel.
The restriction is one among several obstacles faced by the previous president’s app. Truth Social was created as a “free-speech” alternative to Twitter, after Trump was banned from the platform for his tweets regarding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Lots of of the president’s supporters stormed the constructing that day to attempt to block Congress from confirming Joe Biden’s victory within 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 in regards to the election. He’s facing a criminal investigation over secret government records he took with him to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida and is considering one other run for the White House.
Trump Media was set to go public through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corporation, a special-purpose acquisition company. The deadline is Sept. 8, although DWAC is pushing for a delay of as much as a yr. DWAC warned shareholders that a decline in the previous president’s popularity could hurt the app and that, with out a delay, the acquisition company can have to liquidate.
DWAC scheduled a shareholder meeting for Sept. 6, two days before the present merger deadline. Shares of the corporate, which hit $97 in March, are down about 50% to $25 to date this yr.
