Before we go too far down this path, we need to be clear: Google absolutely holds the right to define what appears in their store. We are not arguing with that right. This is entirely about explaining where we are and what our path looks like moving forward.

The Bike Law Pocket Guide

We love the product, and the project itself is something that we believe is desperately needed for the cycling community across this entire country. So few cyclists understand the laws of where they live and how they ride, even fewer drivers do. Many law enforcement officers are equally unaware. Making matters worse, these laws are changing faster right now than they have in over 30 years.

We built this resource for the explicit purposes of education, reference and reporting, because yes, safer streets start with education.

We submitted the application to the Apple App Store at the beginning of July, and the app landing in the app store on July 17th. We fully expected this to be the difficult platform the go live on, so it was our first pass. Apple did push back on the first version we gave them. They felt that the information alone did not warrant publication because 'All of the information is available on the web'. As a result we added the reporting module that we honestly would have preferred to hold off on.

With the Apple versions in the wild, we could switch gears and focus on the Microsoft ( Windows ), Web, and Google ( Android ) versions.

The Web version is up and available, and it is looking increasingly like it will have to be the Android goto, which we will delve into more in a second. The Microsoft version will be available shortly, as it is code complete, just waiting for us to pull the trigger on distribution.

Android

First and foremost, the app itself is completed to a point where it meets every single goal we had for the first version. It was initially submitted to the Play Store at the end of July. The pushback from the Play Store is over their Misleading Claims policy.

Policy Summary

To maintain our commitment to a transparent and trustworthy user experience, Google Play prohibits misleading claims or information in apps. This includes misleading information in the description, title, icon and screenshots. Apps must not misrepresent their functionality, or claim impossible features, even if labeled as a joke. You must also avoid improper categorization, false content about elections, and false claims of affiliation with governments or other established entities. For example, you cannot use "Official" in a title without the necessary rights. Please review the full policy to ensure compliance.

 Full Policy

We don't allow apps that contain false or misleading information or claims, including in the description, title, icon, and screenshots.

That is the gist of the policy taken directly from their site, and this is what we have been working through with multiple iterations to work with the Play Store in ongoing attempts to comply with this policy, and what feels like a moving target. However, we think we now fully understand the issue. We are sharing what we know, what we suspect, and what comes next.

At the heart of the issue, compliance for use requires two things:

1. A clear disclaimer that we are not a government agency, nor do we represent one.
2. We provide direct links to official government sources for our content.

The first is not a problem, one which we happily comply with. The second however, is problematic.

Some states, like Colorado, do not publish to .gov sites are their official site for their code book.

Others, do not use their .gov sites to publish their laws at all, and instead push to a 3rd party, .com site that is lexis.com, which is behind a paywall. Those 'official' sources can not be linked to, nor do they meet the .gov or .us policy requirement. In the ensuing months of back and forth we have invested over 100 hours in an attempt to meet them in the middle. The middle does not seem to be a place that they are willing to meet in. Still others, that are .gov time out, or are hidden behind 'captchas' that will fail their automated testing. Plus, we are being asked to provide direct attribution for all 540 links to the statues in a 4000 character description for the play store.

Sadly, where this leaves us is having to offer an Android 'Side Load' option while still trying to comply with their policy to get this to you in the stores. We no longer have an expectation or timeline of when or really even if we will ever get into the Play Store. Which is a very long winded version of 'we are continuing to work with Google in the hopes of giving this to you'.

Sadly, the damage done by those selling misinformation and conspiracy theories have created a climate where we may not be able ever overcome these challenges.