Amazon will suspend the free-speech platform Parler from its web hosting service Sunday night, claiming content on the social media app violated the service’s rules.
Buzzfeed News reported that an Amazon Web Services (AWS) Trust and Safety team notified Parler that “violent content” on the platform violated their terms of service, and that the alternative to Twitter would be suspended as a result.
“Recently, 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,” an email obtained by Buzzfeed News stated. “[W]e cannot provide services to a customer that is unable to effectively identify and remove content that encourages or incites violence against others,” the email reads. “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 effective Sunday, January 10th, at 11:59PM PST.”
Parler CEO John Matze shared his response to the announcement on his Parler account, noting that the Amazon’s “attempt to completely remove free speech off the internet” is part of a “coordinated attack by the tech giants to kill competition in the market place.”
“Amazon, Google and Apple purposefully did this as a coordinated effort knowing our options would be limited and knowing this would inflict the most damage right as President Trump was banned from the tech companies,” Matze said in his post, shared by Dinesh D’Souza on Twitter.
Matze said the suspension would cause Parler to be offline for up to a week while the social media platform finds an alternative host, adding, “You can expect the war on competition and free speech to continue, but don’t count us out.”
Earlier Saturday, Apple removed Parler from the App Store after demanding the free-speech app provide a content-moderation plan with 24 hours to comply. The Google Play Store also removed the app.
“We have received numerous complaints regarding objectionable content in your Parler service, accusations that the Parler App was used to plan, coordinate and facilitate the illegal activities in Washington DC on January 6,” a notice from Apple to Parler executives stated, referring to the Capitol Hill protest that turned violent last week.
The moves from Big Tech come after Twitter banned President Trump from its platform, prompting the president to move to Parler in an effort to communicate with United States citizens during the last two weeks of his term.
