Google kicking out 'sugar daddy' dating apps from Play Store
What's the story
Google has recently changed its Play policies including refinements and some aspects of advertising IDs. The policy update also brought an updated inappropriate content policy into force. It bans "compensated sexual relationships" or sugar daddy dating apps.
Strangely, these apps have been available on the Play Store for years.
Further, Google added that the new policy changes include crackdown on inactive developer accounts.
Sugar-what?
Play Store policies prohibit services providing sexual acts for compensation
In case you aren't aware, a sugar daddy relationship usually involves older, wealthier individuals dating and compensating younger partners with gifts and money in exchange for sexual favors.
Google's Play Store policies already prohibit applications that promote "services that may be interpreted as providing sexual acts in exchange for compensation."
The new policy change adds specificity to this definition.
Implicit ways
Expanded Play Store policy specifies what sugar dating is
Evidently, none of these dating apps on the Play Store explicitly say that older users of the app would compensate younger partners. However, many apps advertise the wealth of suitors on their platforms.
The policy has been expanded to include "compensated dating or sexual arrangements where one participant is expected or implied to provide money, gifts, or financial support to another participant ('sugar dating')."
Section 230
Google policy change comes amid crackdown on online sex work
Although the change was first spotted by Android Police, The Verge reported that Google's policy change comes amid a crackdown on online sex work by platforms. This is being enabled by the introduction of the FOSTA-SESTA legislation in the US in 2018.
The legislation removes Section 230's protections for content that "promotes or facilitates prostitution".
Details
Inappropriate content policy comes into force on September 1, 2021
While the inappropriate content policy is slated to come into force on September 1, Android's capabilities mean that sugar daddies and their partners could still sideload the apps that get booted off Play Store.
Google didn't name the applications that it would be removing. Meanwhile, other policy changes we mentioned at the beginning will come into force on September 15.