Amazon has suspended the controversial social media network Parler from its Amazon Web Services (AWS), claiming that growing threats of violence on the platform violated its terms of service. Parler had already been removed from the Google Play Store and the Apple Store as tensions escalated following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot. However, the latest suspension has taken Parler completely offline with no clear indication on when it will return.
Parler was founded in 2018 as an alternative to more mainstream platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, that have taken action against misinformation and controversial groups spreading hate or threats of violence online. In contrast, Parler has gone to great lengths to try to establish itself as a social media service that adheres strictly to the First Amendment, meaning that content has had little to no moderation. The results have led to an increasing number of Parler users allegedly using the service as a means of communication to organize riots or incite violence, like the events of the past week.
According to emails originally obtained by Buzzfeed News between AWS and Parler Chief Policy Officer Amy Peikoff, Amazon notified Parler that the platform would be suspended from the hosting service just before midnight on Sunday, Jan. 10. The emails explained that Amazon viewed Parler's plan to hire volunteers to moderate the platform as an inefficient method to reign in all of the service violations. As a result, Amazon suspended the social media platform over its "very real risk to public safety." Amazon also included examples in the email of posts on Parler that seemed to push for extreme violence against political leaders, members of the media, activists and others. Following its ban from Amazon Web Services, The Hill reported that Parler has now filed an 18-page lawsuit against Amazon, claiming that AWS has violated the contractual agreement between the two companies by taking Parler offline.
Parler Probably Won't Be Back For A While, If Ever
It's entirely possible that Parler will resurface in the coming days, weeks, or months. However, it most likely won't be on Amazon Web Services - no mention of Parler's possible return was included in the email, and the AWS Trust & Safety Team deliberately stated that it will work with Parler to migrate the platform's data to its own servers. Parler CEO John Matze even posted to his platform to announce that the network could be offline for as long as a week as it "rebuild(s) from scratch."
Even if Parler does find another home on the internet, it almost certainly will not have the mainstream access that it once had through Amazon, Apple, or Google. Unless it takes more significant measures to ban violent speech on its platform, Parler is unlikely to be able to prove to these major companies that it's done enough to meet the requirements for their terms of service. Ultimately, it has been considered to be well within the rights of these companies to combat hate, threats of violence and deliberate misinformation on the platforms they own. Parler has shown that it has little interest in complying with that, and is actively looking for a new part of the internet to call home as a result.
Source: Buzzfeed News