Google Gives Gab One Week to Censor Uncensorable Content Occurred on 12 Jul 2019

Just minutes after Gab started trending at #1 in the Play Store, Google warned them that their app would be banned in one week if the “objectionable user generated content” was not removed.

However, Gab is just one app that connects users to Fediverse - a decentralized social networking project. Therefore, Gab can’t control the “objectionable user generated content” that Google is referencing. From the Reclaim the Net article:

Like with a web browser, Gab can’t control which servers or content users visit or connect to.

Gab had a thread on Twitter detailing this situation:

Get the number one trending app on the Google Play Store. Freedom is in high demand! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gabai.gabby&hl=en_US [image]

– Gab.com (@getongab) 12 Jul 2019

BREAKING: Google is now banning open source Fediverse/ActivityPub protocol apps the moment Gab becomes a top trending app.

Our app, like every other Fediverse app, doesn’t have any user content. It can connect to ANY server in the Fediverse. Otherwise it is a blank slate. [image]

– Gab.com (@getongab) 12 Jul 2019

We have 7 days to comply with these demands, which are impossible to comply with. The Fediverse is decentralized! We can’t moderate content for thousands of servers we don’t control!

– Gab.com (@getongab) 12 Jul 2019

Unsurprisingly, Google followed through on on their threat and removed Gab’s app from the Play Store about one week later.