A social networking app used by millions is seeking a new home after being suspended by big tech over claims of failure to remove egregious content from its platform.
Parler was launched in 2018 as an antidote to sites like Twitter and Facebook that take action to censor particular content and suspend or block user accounts based on the perceived nature of content posted.
Amazon said it had made the decision to block Parler from using its AWS hosting services over concerns regarding “violent content.”
In an email, Amazon’s AWS Trust and Safety team informed Parler’s chief policy officer Amy Peikoff that the social network “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,” the letter said.
“However, we cannot provide services to a customer that is unable to effectively identify and remove content that encourages or incites violence against others.”
Google removed Parler from its app store on Friday, and on Saturday Apple followed suit.
Parler’s chief executive John Matze described the concurrent actions of Google, Apple, and Amazon as “a coordinated attack by the tech giants to kill competition in the marketplace.”
Responding to Google’s ban, Matze said: “We won’t cave to politically motivated companies and those authoritarians who hate free speech.”
The move to silence Parler’s approximately 10 million users comes after an executive order on preventing online censorship was issued by President Donald Trump on May 28 2020.