Truth Social isn’t yet allowed on Google’s app store, but another seemingly anything-goes social network in the same orbit has just made a comeback there. Parler, a social app designed to appeal to pro-Trump social media users turned off from mainstream platforms, has returned to the Google Play Store more than a year after it launched.
Google removed Parler in January of last year over concerns that content on the app is icited violence during the Capitol attack. While Parler agreed: scan for hate speech and clearing some posts on the iOS version of the app to make it back to Apple’s App Store, Parler’s Android version never made it back to the official Android app marketplace. Although it was not officially offered on the mobile operating system, the Android version of Parler remained available on the app’s website for direct download, an option not available for iOS apps.
Google explained the decision to reinstate Parler in a statement to londonbusinessblog.com:
“As we’ve long stated, apps can appear on Google Play, provided they comply with Play’s developer policies. All apps on Google Play that contain User Generated Content (UGC) must implement robust moderation practices that ban objectionable content, provide an in-app system for reporting objectionable UGC, take action against those UGC and abusive users as appropriate, or that violate the app’s terms of use and/or user policy.”
It seems likely that Parler decided to implement the same additional moderation measures that the app added on iOS to regain access to the Google Play Store. Google notes that the app has made meaningful changes to align with the company’s policies, addressing concerns about incitement to violence that led Google to withdraw the app more than a year ago.
Republican donor and Trump supporter Rebekah Mercer John Matze, the founder of Parler, expelled early last year, although Mercer has usually kept a low profile at the company. She was a founding member of Parler and reportedly tried to steer the app and maintain momentum after the election as major tech platforms tightened their rules on extremist content following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.