Parler App Banned From Apple's App Store, Removed From Amazon's Web Hosting Service; May Go Offline After Sunday Midnight
Parler, with around 10 million total users and nearly four million active users, is highly popular among the supporters of President Trump. The application saw unprecedented surge in downloads after Trump's Twitter account was banned following the violence at Capitol.
Washington, October 10: Parler, the social media application which received a spurt in usership after US President Donald Trump's challenge to the presidential election results, may go offline from Sunday midnight. The app, in the latest set of rebuke, has been cracked down by tech giants Apple and Amazon. The latter has announced Parler's removal from its web hosting service.
"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," stated the email sent by Amazon. What is Parler App? An Alternative to Twitter? Why It Has Drawn Rebuke From Google and Apple.
The Jeff Bezos-led company further justified its action by pointing out, in the email, that it cannot provide services to a customer that is "unable to effectively identify and remove content that encourages or incites violence against others."
In a similar statement issued by Apple, the Silicon Valley behemoth said it cannot offer an application to its customers which cannot regulate content that provokes violence. The app, with immediate effect from Saturday night, was taken down from the App Store.
“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,” Apple said in a statement. The action came a day after the company had warned Parler to enact measures that can regulate
"egregious" content on its platform.
On Friday, Google had similarly banned Parler from the Play Store. The company had cited a similar reason - the non-regulation of content that promotes violence - as the reason behind axing the application from the Play Store.
Parler, with around 10 million total users and nearly four million active users, is highly popular among the supporters of President Trump. The application saw unprecedented surge in downloads after Trump's Twitter account was banned following the violence at Capitol.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 10, 2021 10:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).