Berliner Tageblatt - Google allows Donald Trump's Truth Social in Play Store

The app -- which Trump launched after being barred from Twitter over the 2021 Capitol riot -- had been kept out of Google's store over its lack of moderation tools, including for violent threats.

Google said Truth Social had since been updated to comply with its policies barring objectionable posts, and had built in effective systems for reporting and removing unwanted content as well as blocking abusers.

"Apps may be distributed on Google Play provided they comply with our developer guidelines, including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those that incite violence," a Google spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.

Developers can make Android apps available elsewhere on the internet, but the Play Store is a main source of content for users.

A Truth Social app for Android devices is available at the social network's website and other venues that may not have Google's content moderation rules, according to the Alphabet-owned tech titan.

A version of Truth Social tailored for Apple mobile devices is available at the App Store, which also enforces rules about content moderation.

Google said in August that it had notified Truth Social that its app violated Play policies and required "effective systems for moderating user-generated content" in order to be offered on the platform.

The online giant said at the time that Trump's app broke rules barring content that incites physical threats and violence, but was working on addressing those issues.

Truth Social was conceived as Trump's answer to Twitter -- from which he was ejected in January 2021, days after a mob of his supporters refusing to accept his election defeat to Joe Biden stormed the US Capitol.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who has made a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, has said he would likely allow the former US leader back on the platform. After trying to walk away, Musk now says the troubled deal is back on and could close by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, a merger between Trump Media and Technology with a blank check company named Digital World Acquisition Corp -- intended to bring in fresh funding for the Trump platform -- has yet to take place.

Regulators are reported to be scrutinizing the merger to determine if anything was amiss.

M.Odermatt--BTB