Google temporarily removed the Play Store Element Android chat app this week for allegedly hosting abusive content. The decision is particularly disconcerting, as Element is only a client for the Matrix federated chat protocol and not a service in itself. That is, Element can (and does) moderate its own servers, but has no control over what happens to the network to which users connect.
“[J]because Google does not control web content, Element does not control Matrix content, “wrote Element CEO Matthew Hodgson. a blog post published Saturday.
Google booted Element from its app store on Friday without notice or notice and restored the app late saturday evening, Said Element. A Saturday morning tweet, the company said it had contacted Google and confirmed that the suspension “is due to abusive content somewhere in the Matrix.” Element developers filed a “detailed appeal” to Google to try to overturn the suspension, and it seems to have made a difference.
In a blog update, Hodgson said a Google executive contacted him and apologized for Google’s “poor communication.” Apparently, the suspension was related to “extremely abusive content” on matrix.org’s default home server, which Element runs on behalf of Matrix, which had already been quickly identified and handled by Element moderators.
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“We’ve explained how Element and Matrix work, we’ve established a channel for communication on any future moderation concerns, and we hope the app will be restored soon,” Hodgson wrote at the time.
Hours later, he updated the blog to announce that the app was running again and thanked users for their patience.
“Thanks also to Google for being transparent and apologetic and for the quick resolution once the contact is established,” he said.
But while the app is back in the Google Play Store, its sudden demise has certainly caused some headaches for dozens of businesses, universities and governments, including the UK, America, France. and Germany, which use Element and the Matrix network. Google has previously suspended a third-party customer for content beyond its control, such as Android Police notes. In February 2020, Google banned the popular open source client Reddit Slide for nearly two weeks because a screenshot in the app’s store list contained the text “ISIS” as shown in a news-related Reddit post.
Google did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment. The incident with Element comes after both Google and Apple cracked down TalkThe application following the attack on the Capitol building on January 6 for allegedly hosting violent content.
With this with that in mind, it makes sense for Google to be able to raise its issues related to content moderation and to be somewhat banned these days. And while this approach may be justified in some cases, let’s remember that not all apps are bad and that some are really doing their best to combat violent and hateful content.