Apple, Amazon, Google ban social media platform Parler in wake of US Capitol riots

[lpetrich]

Parler is back.

After Weeks Offline, Parler Finds A New Web Host: California Company SkySilk : NPR

Far-right-friendly social media site Parler limped back to life on Monday with a new Web host, retooled community guidelines and a promise that content inciting violence will be removed.

...
For Parler users, the relaunch has anything but smooth. The website appears to be operating at a snail's pace for people accessing it by computer. The site is not accepting new users. On mobile phones, Parler does not seem to be working at all.

...
In new content guidelines released by Parler on Monday, the company says it will deploy a "privacy-preserving process" using an algorithm and human moderators to police content that threatens or incites violence. The guidelines, according to Parler, are "viewpoint neutral." The social media site said it will act on any attempts to use the platform to carry out a crime. The company also said there will be an appeals process for users who believe their posts have been taken down in error.

Additionally, Parler says there will be a "trolling filter" in which content that attacks someone based on race, sex, sexual orientation or religion will be covered up. Yet those who want to view the content will be allowed by clicking through the filter.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

Time will tell with these clowns. If we've learned anything it's that lawsuits and the threat of lawsuits seems to get their attention more than anything else.

 

[Swammerdami]

The fact is, when the "cartel" that is "society" collectively and independently decide on the same course of action, then perhaps it is less a cartel than some person or persons being shitty. Obviously, I'm open to other interpretations, but the fact is, if every store in a city bans an individual because that individual has walked into every store holding a gun and waving it at the other customers, then that individual isn't the "victim" of a "cartel", they are the "victim" of "their own stupid behavior and threats"

Yes. This idea that Apple, Google, etc. have to enable the hate speech of racists because "Dis here 'Merikuh, man. We gots us a First Amendment" reminds me of the very first scene in the very first episode of The Wire. Jimmy McNulty interviews a witness to the murder of a young hood named Snot-boogie. The punchline doesn't come until 2:35.
[YOUTUBE]zmIvu1yg3bU[/YOUTUBE]

 

[lpetrich]

Parler app back online after month-long gap - BBC News

The app was not available for all users immediately, however.

And users reported their posts from the previous version had vanished from their profiles.

...
Parler said the plan was to bring the service back online for existing users first, with new users able to sign up in a week's time.

And it was no longer working with a "big-tech" provider but was "built on sustainable, independent technology".

What might that mean? That Parler is using more generic database and file and networking and OS interfaces? As opposed to what might have been necessary for being hosted by Amazon?

Late last year, as Twitter banned some Trump supporters and then President Trump himself, Parler soared up the app charts. It had what every fledgling online business seeks, momentum - until it was stopped in its tracks.

Now it is back, but in a very limited form. It is still unavailable on app stores and with no way yet for new users to sign up. It feels as though its moment has passed - even if its old members do manage to get back online they may find Parler just a little dull.

The past - and the evidence of its use to plan the invasion of Congress - has been wiped clean.

Sean Hannity has returned to it, but he only got a few responses.

Where's the fun in that?

There's probably only one person who could give Parler its mojo back - Donald J Trump. But so far he seems reluctant to show up at a party which feels like it's over.

What's going on in his mind?

 

[lpetrich]

Parler Offered Trump Organization A Stake If He Joined - "Documents seen by BuzzFeed News show that Parler offered Trump 40% of the company if he posted exclusively to the platform. The deal was never finalized."

These discussions took place while Trump was still President, but the deal was not completed because of concerns with anti-bribery laws.

House Oversight Committee asks if Trump was offered a stake in Parler - The Washington Post - "Investigation into the conservative social media site expands as House investigators demand new documents on several issues"

Maloney last month called for the FBI to examine the role Parler played in fomenting the Capitol assault and what ties, if any, it has with Russia. The company has used a Russian-owned Web services company, DDoS-Guard, since Amazon Web Services and other companies withdrew their technical support last month.

Another case of US right-wingers getting cozy with Russia? What a change from the Cold War.

I don't think that one should trust *anything* sensitive with some Russian company. Just like with some Chinese company. Russian intelligence is likely to get involved and watch what goes on, just like with China. Consider TikTok.

House leader requests FBI probe of Parler policies, alleged Russian ties - The Washington Post - "Rep. Maloney says she’s planning to launch an investigation into the conservative site’s policies, ownership and alleged Russia ties"

Parler previously has described its ownership and leadership as based in the United States, with conservative financier Rebekah Mercer and commentator Dan Bongino among its investors. It hired DDoS-Guard to protect it from cyberattacks after Amazon Web Services suspended Parler for having inadequate moderation policies, citing in a legal filing what it said was the site’s “unwillingness and inability” to remove content “inciting and planning the rape, torture, and assassination of named public officials and private citizens.”

...
“Our return is inevitable due to hard work, and persistence against all odds. Despite the threats and harassment not one Parler employee has quit. We are becoming closer and stronger as a team,” chief executive John Matze wrote in a post Monday. As the letter from Maloney noted, Matze is married to a Russian woman, a fact previously noted in numerous news reports that raised the issue without documenting improper influence over the company.

Conservative commentators Mark Levin and Sean Hannity, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), have posted words of support, but the site overall remained inoperative Thursday morning.

 

[lpetrich]

Parler reemerges after a month offline - Axios

Flashback: Parler's ex-CEO John Matze says company's board fired him in wake of the Capitol attack. He told Axios on HBO earlier this month that he feels "betrayed" by Mercer, the heiress daughter of hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer.

What drama llama.

Parler, a Social Network That Attracted Trump Fans, Returns Online - The New York Times
"Before the site’s return on Monday, Parler executives had said they were rejected by multiple web-hosting companies that either feared a public-relations backlash or a cyberattack if they agreed to support the site."

Parler is back online after a month of downtime - The Verge

However, Parler remains in an uncertain position. Apple and Google haven’t restored its app to their stores, and it’s still fighting an ongoing lawsuit against Amazon, where a judge appeared unsympathetic to its claims. Its previous CEO John Matze said he was fired in early February, and the company is now “conducting a thorough search for a permanent CEO” who will replace Meckler. It’s also under scrutiny in Congress — where House Oversight Committee chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) has requested documents on Parler’s financing and operations.