"We’re aware of continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the US. We recognize that there can be reasonable debate about content policies and that it can be difficult for apps to immediately remove all violative content, but for us to distribute an app through Google Play, we do require that apps implement robust moderation for egregious content," the statement shared with the American technology news website says.
"In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app’s listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues," it says.
GOOGLE has removed Parler from the Play Store.
— Musadiq Bidar (@Bidar411) January 9, 2021
Google says it reminded Parler of its content moderation policy in recent months, adding, "in light of this ongoing and urgent public threat, we are suspended the app's listing from the Play Store until it addresses these issues." pic.twitter.com/zgKqILIaFv
The application can reportedly be accessed via third-party app stores on Google's mobile platforms, which are not operated by the company.
The decision of the Silicon Valley big tech mogul is reportedly followed by Apple, which threatened to remove Parler from its App Store on iOS within 24 hours if the moderation policy of the app was not improved.
Parler, founded in 2018, has become a relatively popular social platform among American conservatives and President Trump's supporters, since the app markets itself as supporting "free speech" and an alternative to mainstream social media, which censor those who hold rightwing views, according to some.
It's been reported that the app was actively used during the riots in the US capital on Wednesday.
