Google said it is introducing some changes to its Play Store which is aimed at purging the app store of controversial apps such as those that sell marijuana or promotes hate speech. Apps that exhibit sexual content too are being removed from the app store.
Google said the new app store policies will allow for zero tolerance towards marijuana and its sale, irrespective of whether the stuff is legal in a particular region or state. Some states in America or several regions around the world have made the sale of marijuana legal where limited quantities of it are used for medicinal purposes or just for fun.
Google has said they have nothing to do with apps related to marijuana as long as they are not shipping or selling the thing to buyers online. The same would be equally applicable even in regions where online sale or purchase of marijuana is legal.
Among the other apps that Google has found fault with include those that depicts or promotes hate speech. Google said they are still holding on to the definition of hate speech as it was a while back. It’s just that the same has been made more watertight with the addition of new clauses that aims to debunk the concept of making anyone race feel superior or inferior in comparison to another.
Sexually explicit apps too are being removed, which the company hopes will make the app store less desirable of a place for getting along with some sexual entertainment.
Loot boxes too have been banned even though the concept has really gained a lot of tractions as a means of wooing a segment of people. Companies or politicians have resorted to the same to promote sales or gain political mileage among the masses.
On the whole, the above changes should not come as a surprise given that anything related to sex, drugs or hate speeches have always been a taboo in the society, and for good reasons. A dedicated userbase, however, has always endorsed these and is the reason these continue to thrive. Google’s move will at least push these to the sidelines and not eliminate them completely while the Play Store itself becomes more family oriented.