Parler – a startup social network platform that many right-wing people are flocking to was taken offline. They announced that they would be temporarily shut down for a week because their server provider, “Amazon Web Service,” decide to suspend their operations.
Amazon disclosed that the social networking platform violated its AWS terms of service due to the perpetual increase of harmful content on its social platform.
Parler recently ranked No. 1 in both Apple and Google Play app store “free apps section” and got blacklisted from their app stores. Apple related their reasons to the Capitol Hill uprising that happened on Wednesday.
The report has it that Parler users were discussing vicious means to invade the rally at Capitol Hill. They suggested bringing weapons – in the aftermath of the riot, items were stolen from inside the state capitol building, they attacked the law enforcement, and the congress meeting was adjourned.
“We have always supported diverse points of view being represented on the App Store, but there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity. Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety. We have suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The social networking company received a letter from the iPhone maker App Review Board. They claim that Parler’s service contradicts its App Store Review Guidelines, and the networking company has to filter harmful content on its platform.
Google also confirmed that Parler contradicted its App Store Review Guidelines “We’re aware of continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the U.S. In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app’s listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues.”
Remember, ever since the outgoing U.S. president Donald Trump lost the 2020 November election, he has allegedly challenged the integrity of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory as the 46th American president.
Trump’s administration has been active with his social media platforms to dispense announcements and communicate with the world.
Lately, Trump has been reckless with the content he shares on his social platform, not mindful that he might be contradicting the rules to socialize via the internet.
At the beginning of 2021, Twitter already screened about five tweets by the outgoing U.S. president without penalizing his actions. He relentlessly shared false information about a “rigged election,” sharing violent threats as tweets.
He also instigated the riot at Capitol Hill with contents he shared on his social platform, which he refused to delete. Afterward, several social media companies autonomously restricted the outgoing president from accessing their platforms.
By the time Twitter decided to ban Trump permanently, other social platforms have already taken pleasure in restricting his account until President-elect Joe Biden is sworn-in as president.
However, Parler is the only social spot where you would probably see the outgoing president trying to make his voice heard again via the internet.
Ps: any social platform that harbors Trump prior to January 20 is at risk of being blacklisted by mainstream social media platforms.
Parler’s Chief Policy Officer, Amy Peikoff, believes that social media companies are rash towards enacting policies because of pressure: “Those tech companies are not necessarily singling us out, but certainly by the people who have been putting pressure on them.”
Parler seems to be taking the blame for the riot that occurred last week. Still, Peikoff thinks otherwise – she believes her company has been set up because the reason they are being penalized is not genuine enough.
She said “We think we’re being set up in a lot of ways because in looking at some of the content, these are accounts that have been created two days ago, and they have few pieces of content, and some of them are parodies of what you would think a right-wing insider of violence would be.”
Based on Appfigures analysis, Parler downloads on app stores has increased intensively in the past few days – “between Wednesday and Friday are estimated to have added more than 450,000 new downloads.”
Parler will be back online once they resolve their service to match App Stores Review Guidelines and secure a new server provider; that will take a while – then the social network will be back online.
