**Google Removes Negative Reviews of Tracker Exposing Uyghur Forced Labor**.
**Introduction**.
Google has recently sparked controversy by removing negative reviews from its Play Store of an app that tracks companies’ involvement in Uyghur forced labor. The app, called Uyghur Forced Labor Tracker, was developed by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) and has been downloaded over 100,000 times since its launch in March 2022..
**App Removal and Review Deletion**.
In August 2023, Google removed the Uyghur Forced Labor Tracker app from its Play Store due to alleged policy violations. However, the app was later reinstated after ASPI appealed the decision..
Subsequently, Google deleted several negative reviews of the app from its Play Store. These reviews highlighted concerns about the app’s accuracy and alleged bias against Chinese companies. ASPI has accused Google of suppressing negative reviews to protect its business interests in China..
**Google’s Response**.
Google has stated that it removed the negative reviews because they violated its Play Store policies. Specifically, the company cited reviews that contained .
