Google Removes Gab From the Play Store Occurred on 17 Aug 2017

Google removed the Android app for Gab.ai from the Play Store claiming that Gab wasn’t removing controversial content from its platform. Gab is branded as the free speech, non-authoritarian alternative to Twitter, so of course they’re not going to start censoring content for arbitrary reasons.

Google gave Breitbart the following statement:

In order to be on the Play Store, social networking apps need to demonstrate a sufficient level of moderation, including for content that encourages violence and advocates hate against groups of people. This is a long-standing rule and clearly stated in our developer policies. Developers always have the opportunity to appeal a suspension and may have their apps reinstated if they’ve addressed the policy violations and are compliant with our Developer Program Policies.

An event like this begs the question: what role does a company like Google play in the censorship decisions of a platform like Twitter?

Gab filed a lawsuit against Google about a month later.