Overview
- Google updated its Chrome Web Store developer rules Wednesday and set August 1, 2026 as the date when enforcement begins for extensions that enable real‑money outcome trades.
- The new policy classifies prediction‑market extensions as prohibited regulated goods and services, which removes any extension that facilitates wagering on event outcomes from the approved store.
- Google narrowed its Limited Use data policy so extensions may collect only the data needed for a single declared purpose and must notify users of any post‑installation changes to data handling.
- The rules also ban extensions designed to bypass AI safety guardrails or weaken built‑in protections for AI products, making safety‑circumvention tools ineligible for the Web Store.
- Developers were told to audit, modify, or remove noncompliant extensions before the deadline or face removal, and the move follows growing state regulatory scrutiny of prediction platforms that could push creators to redesign or migrate services outside the Chrome Web Store.