Parler CEO says the service will be down 'longer than expected'
Parler is gone...for now.
Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images
Parler probably isn't coming back any time soon.
The social network that still supports Donald Trump and his followers — one of the few to do so right now — has been shut down after Amazon suspended it from its web-hosting services on Monday. Google and Apple have already removed Parler from their respective app stores, and the service is completely inaccessible at writing time.
Ahead of the shutdown, Parler CEO John Matze said (via screenshot by author Don Winslow) that the service will "likely be down longer than expected," in a post on the platform.
Parler CEO announces their entire system has been shut down, no vendors will touch them, and that will be offline for the foreseeable future. pic.twitter.com/gQKsKWX9GR
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) January 11, 2021
This is not due to software restrictions; Matze says that the company has the "software and everyone's data ready to go."
"Rather it's that Amazon's, Google's and Apple's statements to the press about dropping our access has caused most of our other vendors to drop their support for us as well. And most people with enough servers to host us have shut their doors to us."
In a post Sunday, Matze said the company will try to move to a new provider and that it has "many competing for [its] business." He called the actions by Amazon, Google, and Apple a "coordinated effort," and an "attempt to completely remove free speech off the internet."
Amazon's recent correspondence with Parler shows that the company has pointed out specific examples of content that breaks Amazon Web Services' terms of service, including posts that encourage and incite violence.
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Parler has gained notoriety as it allowed pro-Trump supporters to post on the service without moderation, with some posts inciting violence and posing threats to public safety.
Parler might not be going away for good, however.
"Parler is my final stand on the Internet," wrote Matze. "I won't be making an account on any social. Parler is my home. See you all soon."
UPDATE: Jan. 12, 2021, 12:39 a.m. CET This post was updated to clarify that Amazon's AWS has communicated to Parler specific instances in which Parler users broke AWS' terms of service.
Topics: parler, social-media-companies, Tech