Apple and Amazon dump Talking Business

Apple and Amazon are pulling Parler from their services in a growing backlash after the social media network was among those used to stage Wednesday’s riots on the U.S. Capitol.

Apple removed Parler from its App Store, while Amazon’s cloud unit decided to stop hosting the social media platform from Sunday evening. They joined Google, which removed the app from its Google Play Store on Friday, saying it created a “permanent and urgent threat to public safety.”

Speak, which is popular with extremist groups looking for an alternative to more traditional social media sites, has come under fire since the storming of Capitol Hill by a pro-Trump mob.

The tech companies’ move will allow Parler to end the weekend without easy access to virtually every smartphone user around the world and scrambling to find a new company to host its services.

Apple’s move came a day after the Cupertino, Calif.-Based tech giant threatened to take down the app, telling developers at Talking Friday that they had 24 hours to provide Apple with a plan to moderation and filtering of the service.

A letter provided by Apple to Parler says the social media company has offered to make changes to stay on the App Store. Parler told Apple that it has “been taking this content very seriously for weeks” that it will implement a moderation plan “for now” and that it will set up a temporary task force, the letter said. .

Apple dismissed these efforts as a solution in its explanation for the removal of the app. “We continued to find direct threats of violence and calls to incite lawless action,” Apple told Parler on Saturday, adding that the measures were “inadequate to combat the proliferation of dangerous and objectionable content on your app.” .

Also on Saturday, Amazon Web Services wrote to Parler about its decision to suspend its AWS account, according to a letter seen by Bloomberg. The largest cloud computing provider said it informed the social media company of 98 cases of posts inciting violence in recent weeks and that Parler’s plans to moderate its content were insufficient.

“We cannot provide services to a client who is unable to effectively identify and remove content that encourages or incites violence against others,” according to the letter, signed by the Trust and Security team of ‘AWS and addressed to Talking Policy Director Amy Peikoff. BuzzFeed News reported on Amazon’s plans earlier.

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment.

Apple’s deletion also means Talking will stay out of the App Store on iPhone, iPad, and other devices until it is able to show its “ability to effectively moderate and filter out.” dangerous and harmful content of your service, ”Apple added.

Apple’s decision to remove the app from its store will not remove versions of Parler already installed on Apple devices.

However, Amazon’s decision means the app won’t be functional unless Parler finds a replacement web host. Parler chief executive John Matze said his services could be affected for up to a week.

Apple’s decision will likely have a bigger impact than Google’s, as Android allows apps to be installed through means other than its Google Play Store, while the iPhone and iPad are much more restrictive.

‘Coordinated attack’

On its App Store page, Parler described itself as a “free-to-talk, unbiased social media focused on protecting user rights.” The service has grown in popularity with extremists, with Facebook and Twitter cracking down on users who encourage violence.

Mr. Matze said in an article in Parler that most of his users are “non-violent people who want to share their opinions.”

“We will do our best to switch to a new vendor now as we have a lot of competition for our business, but Amazon, Google and Apple have deliberately done this as part of a coordinated effort knowing that our options would be limited. “, did he declare. “This was a coordinated attack by the tech giants to kill the competition in the market.”

Before its deletion on Saturday, Parler climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store rankings, becoming the store’s most downloaded free app. Parler also ranked 18th among free apps on Apple’s App Store in the past 90 days, according to data from Apptopia.

Speak was “used to plan, coordinate and facilitate illegal activity in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, which resulted in (among other things) loss of life, numerous injuries and destruction of property,” Apple said in Friday. letter to the developers of Talking when he threatened to remove the application.