After being banned from Amazon’s web hosting service and virtually every major app store, Parler may have found a new home on the web, leaving conservatives and others looking for a free-speech social media alternative eager to re-enter the online community.
Following allegations that Parler was used by rioters to incite or even plan the deadly chaos at the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, the social media app became a major target of the biggest names in Big Tech.
In short order, Parler was removed from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, leaving users of iPhones and Android devices unable to download the app amid a sudden surge in its popularity. On Sunday, Amazon Web Services suspended the site from its hosting service, joining Apple and Google in the accusation that Parler did not do its duty to moderate content posted on the platform.
According to The Blaze, Parler CEO John Matze denounced the Big Tech ban as a “coordinated attack by the tech giants to kill competition in the market place.”
“We are the closest thing to competition Facebook or Twitter has seen in many years,” Matze said on Parler late on Saturday before the site went offline. “I believe Amazon, Google, Apple worked together to try and ensure they don’t have competition.”
While the Parler website remains offline as of this writing, The Blaze reports that the company has registered its domain and server with Epik, another internet solutions company.
Epik soon released a statement clarifying that it has “had no contact or discussions with Parler in any form regarding our organization becoming their registrar or hosting provider.”
“From our understanding, Parler was working on satisfying the requested terms placed upon them by various elements of their supply chain, and to date, no communication has been received by them for discussion of future service provision,” said Epik Senior Vice President of Communications Robert Davis in a lengthy statement on Parler.
Although Whois data confirms that Parler has purchased services from Epik, it appears that neither company has yet entered into an agreement to host Parler’s platform there.
Nonetheless, Epik heartily defended Parler in its statement, agreeing with Matze that the platform has been mercilessly targeted:
[W]hen it comes to Parler, it is clear that there is an artificial standard that many now want to apply. The staggering size of Twitter and Facebook alone, have made real change or accountability almost impossible, as the political interests and objectives of their own executives end up creating an undeniable double standard for both policing and enforcement. Over the last year, the effects of this were felt by millions of people, already kept in fear, as our nation was met by unprecedented waves of violence on life and property.
At this time, it is not yet clear exactly when Parler will be up and running, although the company announced on Monday that it is suing Amazon for antitrust violations, breach of contract, and business interference. In that suit, Parler is asking a judge to require Amazon to reinstate Parler’s service as the case progresses.
Shockingly, having his product blacklisted from the mainstream web isn’t the last of Matze’s woes.
“People [are] threatening my life,” Matze told Tucker Carlson on Tuesday night, according to Just The News. “This is not just our civil liberties. They can shut down [a half-billion-dollar company overnight.]”
Nonethless, Matze’s resolve is strong and he vowed to bring Parler back: “We will be back up eventually because we’re not going to give up.”
If you appreciate the work we are doing to fight the leftist assault on our values, please consider a small donation to help us continue. Thank you so much!
