Google restores MetaMask after one week ban

Yesterday Google Play Store restored MetaMask after a one week ban. According to a tweet from MetaMask, MetaMask had been banned for violating Google’s “no mining on android” policy, a service that MetaMask does not offer.

Why it matters:

• This was not the first instance of MetaMask being removed from Google. Furthermore, the news follows Google’s recent ban of crypto content on its Youtube platform, which it later cited was a mistake.
• Similar to the YouTube ban a couple weeks ago, the incident once again highlights the ever-present risk of centralized platform operators utilizing their power to deplatform things they don’t like. Incidents such as these make clear the value proposition of neutral platforms. As Ryan stated in our2020 crypto theses, “in the face of continued challenges to free speech across the media landscape, expect to see more calls forprotocols, not platforms.”