What you need to know
- Parler’s mobile app on Android is available to download again from the Google Play Store.
- Last year, the app was removed from the store following the U.S. Capitol insurgency.
- Parler has implemented stricter content moderation policies to justify its return to the Play Store.
A year after being kicked out of the Google Play Store, the Parler app on Android is now back on the platform after complying with Google’s content moderation policies.
Citing a spokesperson for Parler, The New York Times (opens in new tab) reports that the social media service has made drastic changes to its app in order to comply with Google’s policies. It was removed from the Play Store following the violent U.S. Capitol attack in January of last year.
After last year’s storming of the Capitol, Google and Apple were concerned that Parler was used for the planning and coordinating of the incident. The app was apparently booted out of both the Play Store and Apple App Store because it lacked policies to moderate and remove objectionable content that incited violence.
The company appears to have learned its lesson, with a company representative telling the Times that it will now take down certain content. Parler’s chief marketing officer, Christina Cravens, told the publication that it will hide content that is unsafe for work and promotes hate speech.
“While Parler believes the best way to address the problems of hate and divisiveness in today’s culture is to allow more speech, not less, we are still happy to do business with those who think differently, on the terms on which we do agree,” Cravens told the Times. “The conversation isn’t over, and those who want to see Parler as we intend it may always do so in the browser at Parler.com.”
Google was not immediately available for comment, but a spokesperson confirmed Parler’s return to the Play Store in a statement to TechCrunch (opens in new tab).
“As we’ve long stated, apps are able to appear on Google Play provided they comply with Play’s developer policies,” the spokesperson said. “All apps on Google Play that feature User Generated Content (UGC) are required to implement robust moderation practices that prohibit objectionable content, provide an in-app system for reporting objectionable UGC, take action against that UGC where appropriate, and remove or block abusive users who violate the app’s terms of use and/or user policy.”
Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s Truth Social remains unavailable on the Play Store as Google cited concerns about its content. A Google spokesperson told Axios that the main reason why Truth Social isn’t on Android is its lack of content moderation.
