A game satirizing the Black Lives Matter movement has been removed from the Google Play store for violating the store’s “hate speech” policy, the developers behind the game have revealed.
The game, called #Black Lives Matter, was a satire of the Black Lives Matter movement which used real quotes from activists and sympathisers of the movement.
#BlackLivesMatter #indiegame BANNED by @Google AND @itchio, so it's now free for both PC and Android! Pls Read more: https://t.co/xcp4Zx0tez
— BlackLivesMatterGame (@LimitedSoftware) September 21, 2016
On the game’s website, the developers describe the game as a chance to, “Defend your police station from crazy protesters and Black Lives Matter henchmen in this satirical tower defense game!”
However the developers were soon contacted by Google, who said they had pulled the game from the store for “its clear violation of our acceptable use policy,” with the company pointing to the hate speech section which states:
We don’t allow apps that advocate against groups of people based on their race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, nationality, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
As Raj Patel, a developer at Limited Software, points out, the app does not violate this policy as Black Lives Matter is not a race but an organisation.
Patel adds that he took cautionary steps to ensure the app’s suitability such as making the majority of the enemies in the game white, as well as giving it an 18+ rating.
Talking to Breitbart Tech, Patel claimed that the decision was “absolutely politically motivated,” especially because “Google has expressed public support for Black Lives Matter on multiple occasions.”
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