Google Play and arbitrary standards

On last week’s Linux Outlaws I heard that Google Play, formerly known as the Android Market, has banned the Reddit app. The reason is that it contains NSFW images. What’s dumb about that is that lots of people use Android phones over iPhones for the more liberal standards of the official application repository, besides that you can also get NSFW images in Google Reader, a web browser, and via MMS. So if Google wants to be consistent here, they need to remove a lot of their own programs as well.

3 Comments


  1. It wasn’t about NSFW content, it was about Google trying to limit competition in social networking and image sharing. At least, that’s what I assume.


    1. According to the developer of the “Reddit is fun” app, Google told him it was because of NSFW content. In an update you can find in his Reddit post, if he reworks it so that it doesn’t link to explicit content it will be reinstated.


      1. Still seems like an arbitrary hurdle for a competitor. It will be interesting to see if Google censors itself for the purposes Android apps, or if they really just want a monopoly on adult content.

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