Google removed Parler, a social network popular with Trump supporters, from the Google Play Store , making it much more difficult for Android users to download and access to the app.
Google said in a statement that it requires social media apps to have content moderation policies to remove posts that incite violence , and that posts about Parler encouraged more violence after the riots in the US Capitol earlier this week.
The removal of the application follows the violence in the Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump that left five dead. What happened has renewed calls for social media and technology companies to more closely moderate their platforms, when it comes to calls to incite violence.
Parler was launched in 2018 and emerged earlier this year as a pro-Trump alternative to Twitter with less content moderation . “We are an open choice without censorship,” Parler CEO John Matze said in June 2020. “If you can say it in the streets of New York, you can say it in Parler.”
The store Google Play is not the only way to install apps on Android phones. Users have the option of alternative app stores or a process called side loading, which installs the software manually without going through an app store.
The Parler app will not be removed from phones of users and can still be accessed on the web, although the website had problems loading last Friday.
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