Alt-Right network Gab removed from the Play Store

Google has removed alt-right social network Gab from the Play Store.

Google has removed alt-right social network Gab from the Play Store, the social network shared on Twitter. This comes days after Nazis protested in Charlottesville, VA, leaving one woman dead after a protester drove a van into a crowd of counter protesters. Two police officers also perished when a police helicopter crashed during the protests.

Gab stated the application was removed for violating the Play Store's hate speech policy. That policy states:

We don't allow the promotion of hatred toward groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation/gender identity.

Android holds around 53% of the market share for mobile operating systems in the U.S, which is not large enough for this to be an antitrust concern. Nor is it a First Amendment issue, as some commenters on Twitter have pointed out. The First Amendment only forbids the government from restricting certain types of speech. Since Google is a private entity, the First Amendment does not apply.

Update: Google provided a statement to Ars Technica regarding the removal:

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," the statement read. "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.

Is Google going too far in removing this application, or should this have happened before lives were lost? Scroll on down and share your thoughts in the comments.