Google Civics API rejected by Google Play Store

[Sam King]

Hi,

I have a mobile app that shows polling locations using the Google Civics API.  The Google Play Store requires that if an app shows any government information that they say they're a non-governmental entity and give a link with information about where the information comes from.  Since the Google Civics API doesn't seem to have a non-developer-centric page describing it, we mentioned Google Civics and linked to https://votinginfotool.org/ since that seems to be where Google Civics gets the data.

However, the Google Play Store rejected our app.  With one submission, the rejection was:

Your app contains content that doesn't comply with the Misleading Claims policy. We adopted this policy to promote trust and create a safe experience for users. That’s why apps that provide government information, whether or not they are government affiliated, must strictly adhere to our Misleading Claims policy.

• • Source Link is Not from Official Entity
    The provided URL/link for the source of government information is not from an official government entity. For greater trust and verifiability, it is crucial to provide links to official government entities as the source of government information. The current link provided does not meet this criteria.

When we made some tweaks and submitted again to be more clear, they changed teh end to:

• Missing Source Link for Government Information
  Your app provides government information but lacks one or more clear and accessible URL/link(s) to the original source(s) (for example, .gov domains).

We had been successfully deploying our app for a while now, and I don't think there was a change in policy, so I'm not sure what triggered this now.

It seems like the Google Play Store is rejecting apps that use the Google Civics API because Google Play doesn't think Google Civics is trustworthy.  On top of this, the "file an appeal" link in the Google Play Store doesn't do anything (it sends me back to the screen where I choose which app I'm a developer for, and then all I can do is go back to the page where I see the violation), so we aren't able to talk to anyone to resolve this on our own.

Is anyone from Google able to help with this?  We're trying to get folks out to vote for some of the off-cycle elections this Fall, and being able to use the Google Civics API for polling location lookup would be really helpful!

Thanks!

-Sam

[Elisabeth Ashley]

Hi Sam,

I'm working to build a web app that integrates the Google Civic API. And I'd love to chat with you about the application you're building. Seems like we may have similar goals. 

Please feel free to connect with me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabethjoyashley/

Thanks!

[Google Civic Information API]

Hi Sam,

Thanks for raising this issue! While we can't speak to your app's rejection issue with complete certainty, there's a few things we can recommend as far as your submission which may help.

1. When citing the Google Civic Information API provide the developer URL (https://developers.google.com/civic-information) rather than any other related site. While its main purpose is developer-centric, it also serves as a landing page for information about its sources and other usages.
2. Be sure to be clear what information sources you're using, both in the app's description and also in your store listing (inclusion of the Civic Info URL here would be appropriate).
3. Ensure that it's clear you aren't representing a government or political entity.

Hopefully this will help to address the concerns around the Misleading Claims policy.