The CEO of the controversial social media service Parler is warning users of “longer than expected” outages now that the app has been exiled by other Internet companies. According to a report by CNN, Parler CEO John Matze promised users “more details about our next plans coming soon as we have many options.” However, after Apple, Amazon and Google cut ties with his company, industry experts do not see what “options” he may be referring to.
Parler has become “homeless” on the Internet, as some commentators are putting it, and has been completely shut down for the time being. The app promotes itself as a beacon of “free speech,” and thus a home for conservatives who believe they are being persecuted by mainstream social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. However, the reality is that Parler now hosts many users who have been banned from other sites for making posts that encourage or incite violence. This is the reason that larger private companies have decided not to do business with Parler.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Parler is facing an uphill battle on multiple fronts. Until this mass exodus, it was hosted on Amazon Web Services, providing the physical hardware and infrastructure to keep it running. It also relied on the Apple and Google online stores to make it available on iPhones and other devices, but it can no longer reach users that way either.
Parler has not tried to hide the reasons for these cut ties. The company itself showed reporters a letter that it received from AWS, which read: “We’ve seen a steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms. It’s clear that Parler does not have an effective process to comply with the AWS terms of service.”
“AWS provides technology and services to customers across the political spectrum, and we continue to respect Parler’s right to determine for itself what content it will allow on its site,” it continued. “However, we cannot provide services to a customer that is unable to effectively identify and remove content that encourages or incites violence against others. Because Parler cannot comply with our terms of service and poses a very real risk to public safety, we plan to suspend Parler’s account.”
A similar statement from Apple warned Parler: “There is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity.” Parler reportedly uses a uniquely inefficient “jury” system to determine when posts need to be removed or affixed with a content warning. Apple wrote: “The processes Parler has put in place to moderate or prevent the spread of dangerous and illegal content have proved insufficient… Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety.”
In spite of all these significant rejections from the biggest companies on the Internet, public statements from Matze continue to claim “we have many competing for our business.” However, he warns that it might be as much as a week before Parler is online again, as “we rebuild from scratch.”
