Google is removing the Parler app from the Google Play Store

Google has removed Parler, a popular social networking app among Trump supporters, from the Google Play Store, making it much harder for Android users to download and access the app.

Google said in a statement that social media apps need to have content moderation policies that eliminate posts that incite violence, and that posts on Parler encourage further violence after the US Chapter riot earlier this week.

The removal of the app comes as US Capitol violence by Trump supporters on Wednesday, which left five dead, renewed calls for social and technology companies to moderate their platforms more closely, especially when it comes to calls. incitement to violence.

Twitter permanently banned President Donald Trump’s personal account on Friday because it considered Trump’s latest tweets to incite violence, while Facebook prevented Trump from posting at the inauguration later this month.

Screenshots of the Parler app seen by CNBC show users posting references to firing squads, as well as calls to bring weapons to the presidential inauguration later this month. In its statement, Google said it had warned the app about its content moderation policy earlier this year.

Parler was launched in 2018 and appeared earlier this year as a pro-Trump alternative to Twitter, with less content moderation. “We are a communal market, an open, uncensored market,” Parler CEO John Matze said in June. “If you can say it on New York Street, you can say it on Parler.”

The Google Play Store isn’t the only way to install apps on Android phones. Users have the option of alternative app stores or a process called side loading, which manually installs the software without going through an app store.

The Parler app will not be removed from users’ phones and is still accessible on the web, although the website had loading issues on Friday.

Parler did not immediately return a request for comment on the removal of app stores on Friday. Matze, CEO of Parler, posted on his social network on Friday excerpts from a message from Apple suggesting that Apple intends to imminently remove the application from its iPhone app store. An Apple representative did not immediately comment.

Here is Google’s full statement:

“To protect the safety of users on Google Play, our long-term policies require that apps that display user-generated content have moderation and enforcement policies that eliminate huge content, such as posts that incite violence. All developers agree to these terms, and I reminded Parler of this. a clear policy in recent months. We are aware of the ongoing posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite continued violence in the United States. We recognize that there may be a reasonable debate about content policies and that it may be difficult for applications to remove all elements of the violation immediately. content, but for us to distribute an application through Google Play, the applications need to implement robust moderation for huge content. Given this ongoing and urgent threat to public safety, we are suspending playlists in the Play Store until they are addressed. problems. “