Google, Amazon, and Apple have all given Parler the boot. Parler, a social network geared towards free speech, has been pulled from the Google Play and App Store. Amazon has also kicked Parler off its web hosting services.
Big Tech Targets Parler
The aftermath of the protests in Washington, D.C. hasn’t just resulted in the banishment of Trump’s accounts across social media, but it’s also affecting Parler. The platform has seen a massive migration of politically conservative users following President Trump’s loss in the US election.
Because the platform markets itself as a “free speech social network,” it doesn’t have strict moderation policies. Google, Apple, and Amazon believe that Parler hasn’t done enough to stop the incitement of violence following the protests, resulting in suspension.
Google first made the decision to ban Parler from the Google Play Store, which was uncovered by a report from Axios. Google explained the move in a statement to the outlet, saying:
In order to protect user safety on Google Play, our longstanding policies require that apps displaying user-generated content have moderation policies and enforcement that removes egregious content like posts that incite violence.
Google then went on to say that it is “suspending the app’s listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues.”
Apple shortly made the same decision as Google, opting to ban Parler until it can come up with a proper moderation policy. In a report to Buzzfeed News, Apple said that “Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety,” and that it has “suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues.”
Parler isn’t just unavailable for download on app stores, but it will soon be unavailable from your browser as well. Amazon, the hosting provider for Parler’s website, has also told Buzzfeed News that it will be booting Parler on January 10, 2021, at 11:59pm PST.
Amazon wrote a detailed letter to Parler, which Buzzfeed unveiled in its report. The platform stated that it “cannot provide services to a customer that is unable to effectively identify and remove content that encourages or incites violence against others” in light of the events in Washington, D.C.
John Matze, CEO of Parler, responded to Amazon’s ban in a post on Parler.
He noted that Amazon will officially turn off its serves on January 10, and that “there is the possibility Parler will be unavailable on the internet for up to a week as we rebuild from scratch.”
What Will Become of Parler?
Despite all of big tech banning Parler for potentially inciting violence, it doesn’t seem like the platform will back down. It may be unavailable as an app for quite some time (or even forever), but it will likely be up and running on your browser after it finds a new web host.
