Topline
Parler – an increasingly popular social media app among conservatives, including many who took part in Wednesday’s riot at the U.S. Capitol – is on the verge of being pushed from the internet. web after Amazon, Apple and Google said they would cut links to it, all within the 24-hour race.
Parler was founded by John Matze, Jr., Jared Thomson, and Rebekah Mercer in 2018.
AFP through Getty Images
Key facts
Amazon informed Parler Saturday night that it would no longer host the platform on Amazon Web Services starting Sunday night, which means it will go offline unless it can launch a new hosting service. find before then.
In a letter sent to Parler Chief Policy Officer Amy Peikoff, Amazon – which had been under a lot of pressure from employees who wanted Parler ‘s de-platform – told the app that they had seen 98 instances of “Roles that clearly encourage and incite violence” in recent weeks.
“We have seen a steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which goes against our terms,” Amazon Web Services wrote, adding: “It is clear that Parler does not have an effective process. to comply with AWS terms of service.
Amazon was banned after Apple kicked off its app store on Saturday afternoon for failing to introduce an evaluation plan for violent content, including “planning illegal and dangerous activities, ”Which took him 24 hours to perform.
Google has also kicked Parler off its Google Play store until the app returns with a plan for “strong modeling for meaningful content. ”
Quote Cruise
“As an Amazon employee, we urge Amazon to reject Parler’s services until it removes posts inciting violence, including at the time of the President’s inauguration,” a group of employees wrote Amazon named Amazon Employees for Climate Justice in a letter to their employer posted on Twitter. “We cannot be aware of increased bloodshed and violent attacks on our democracy.”
Lead critic
Parler CEO John Matze warned Saturday night users that Parler will not be available on the internet for up to a week “as we build from scratch,” including Amazon for trying to “completely remove free speech from the internet” and major technology platforms for trying to “kill competition.” “We will try our best to move to a new supplier right now as many of us are competing for our business,” Matze wrote. Parler did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the providers it is considering.
Key background
Named a “free speech” platform, Parler has become one of the fastest growing apps in the US, benefiting from a massive influx of fans. ‘President Trump is away from declining mainstream social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. on the presidential misinformation. The app was used frequently in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6 to plan an act of violence, which resulted in the possession of the U.S. Capitol. The riots sparked a wave of cracking from technical platforms that sought to dismantle what was seen as violence in violence, including President Trump, banned from both Twitter and Facebook.
Further reading
“Capitol attack planned openly online for weeks – police not ready” (Forbes)
“Google Kicks Parler is off its store, and Apple’s ban could go ahead” (Forbes)
“After Parler, What Now?” (Forbes)
“If you were on a parler, you saw this Mob coming” (The New York Times)