Google Removes GunBroker App from the Play Store

Last Thursday, Breitbart’s AWR Hawkins reported that Google, without warning, removed the firearm auction site GunBroker’s application from its Android Play Store. How those of us who aren’t Breitbart readers are just now learning of this is totally beyond me, but here we are.

According to Hawkins’ article, Google initially notified GunBroker on September 3 that the company’s application, which facilitates buying and selling firearms, was in violation of Play Store policy and would be immediately removed.

The app has, in fact, been removed from the platform, but Android users (like me) who previously downloaded it won’t find it suddenly missing from our devices. If you already have GunBroker’s application installed, you should be good at the moment. It also means that anyone who purchases a new Android device will be effectively out of luck from this point on – at least in an official sense.

For all its faults (which mostly relate to high prices), GunBroker really is the most legitimate place to buy and sell firearms on the web. It’s the eBay to Armslist’s Craigslist. The site features an easy-to-use FFL locator to help users find licensed dealers who can legally receive their purchased firearms and can perform the federally-required background checks. Moreover, the buyer and seller resources are on par with what you might expect from an operation like eBay. Simply put, GunBroker is a legitimate marketplace that takes steps to ensure buyers and sellers are above the board. That’s still not enough for Google’s new policy.

I have reached out to GunBroker for a statement and information related to contingency plans, but the company has yet to respond. Theoretically, GunBroker could circumvent the Play Store entirely by posting the APK file on their site. Absent an official response from the company; I’d expect them to do exactly this. It would mean that users might receive a warning about the untrusted application (since it hasn’t been signed by the Play Store), but once loaded, it should work just fine. Updates will be tricky since GunBroker won’t be able to leverage the preinstalled Play Services to check for new versions, though the application itself may be able to do this if it is running. It’s a workable if an imperfect solution to a growing censorship problem among tech giants.

It’ll be interesting to see if Apple follows Google’s lead on this issue. By default, iPhones aren’t as friendly to “sideloading,” or installing applications not approved and hosted by the App Store. Therefore, if Apple chooses to use Google’s example as inspiration for similar actions of its own, this situation could be far more interesting and could prompt a larger debate over usage rights and mobile devices/apps.

The larger story here is the continued discrimination against firearms businesses by major tech players. From a personal perspective, Facebook has wholly blocked Modern Rifleman from boosting or promoting posts, in spite of the fact that this site in no way sells firearms. Shopify recently and unexpectedly terminated agreements with Defense Distributed and numerous firearms retailers. Amazon then removed a printed book containing code to 3D print or machine firearms parts. And lest we forget, Google-owned YouTube has famously demonetized or otherwise harassed firearms channels – even going so far as to completely remove popular creator Hickok45’s presence from the platform before eventually restoring his videos after facing an overwhelmingly negative response. Libertarian-leaners often argue that this isn’t a First Amendment issue, and these private entities are entitled to make their own decisions regarding content – and maybe that’s true in this case. Yet, what happens when Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others become or replace the proverbial “town square” wherein free speech is so important?