Google developer advocate weighs in on Nazi themes, Market policing

By now we should all be pretty familiar with Google's ability to police applications served through the Android Market. It might have been a little shocking the first time Google flexed its muscled and remotely wiped apps from phones. Since then, Google has pulled suspicious wallpaper apps (temporarily), the Easy Root application, and now (to no one's great distress) Nazi themes.

Hitler and swastikas tend to bring a lot of attention wherever they appear; here they have stirred the debate over whether Google should take a page out of Apple's book and review applications before they appear in the market. Tim Bray, Developer Advocate for Google, makes the argument in his personal blog that Google's swift action to remove the apps once they drew attention demonstrates that the system works. "Anyone can publish anything, but there’s a smooth well-oiled process for ripping the weeds out of the garden, once they get noticed," says he.

What do you think? Head over to read his full post and tell us your opinion. [ongoing by Tim Bray via Androinica] 

Ross Lovelace