Truth Social, the social media platform created and supported by Trump Media and Technology Group, is not available on the Google Play Store. Nearly half of the smartphones in the US are unable to download the app.

Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, has not yet approved the distribution of the Truth Social app through the Google Play Store, a company spokesperson confirmed.

When asked about the absence of the Truth Social app on the Google Play Store, the CEO of the social media platform, Devin Nunes, said that the decision is up to Google. Last week, he implied that it was Google, and not Truth Social’s policies, that were preventing the distribution of the app:

When are we going to be available on Android? Well see, that depends on the Google Play store. We are waiting for them to give us the go-ahead, I don’t know why they take so long. It would be nice if they approved us.

Speaking of policies, Google claims that the app lacks effective systems to moderate and ban specific user-generated content, such as physical threats and incitement to violence. Simply put, Truth Social violates the store’s terms of service, Google claimed:

On August 19, we notified Truth Social of several standard policy violations in its current app submission and reiterated that having effective systems in place to moderate user-generated content is a condition of our terms of service for any app to be published. publish on Google Play.

Google will not allow the Truth Social app to be published on the Play Store until the content issues are resolved. The platform has acknowledged Google’s concerns, adding that it is working to address these issues. The search giant has further stated that it had clearly communicated the alleged violations and even included measures to address them.

Truth Social was created and promoted as a “free speech” alternative to Twitter. Former US President Donald Trump’s Twitter ban is strongly believed to be the reason behind the creation of the platform. By the way, Truth Social has been available on the Apple App Store since February of this year.

Source: Axios