Apple will restore Parler, the online discussion center app

Apple’s letter was posted on Twitter TWTR -3.71%

by Mr. Buck, and was confirmed by Mr. Lee’s office. Apple declined to comment.

In the letter, Apple maintained its initial decision to remove Parler from the app store, citing publications that denigrated races and religions, promoted Nazi ideology, and called for violence. Since January, Apple has held “substantial talks” with Parler and the app maker has proposed updates to its platform and content moderation policies, Apple said.

“The app review team has informed Parler as of April 14, 2021 that its updated app proposal will be approved for reinstatement in the App Store,” the letter said. The letter was in response to an investigation that Messrs. Lee and Buck sent to Apple last month.

Buck said on Twitter that the decision was a “great victory for free speech.”

Parler LLC, which launched in 2018, landed amid a debate over Internet businesses and freedom of speech as it grew in popularity among supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

Parler has a format similar to the Twitter Inc. platform. Its increase coincided with more aggressive efforts by Twitter to mark or remove content that Twitter deemed unpleasant or misleading. In February, Parler said it had more than 20 million users, according to Mark Meckler, its interim executive.

Parler defended himself as a Twitter competitor who would take a practical approach to moderating content. This policy made the platform an attractive online meeting place for supporters of the president, who were attacked by Twitter’s approach to content moderation while Trump denied the results of the 2020 election and eventually Twitter suspended his account.

Trump has no account for Parler, but conservative commentators like Sean Hannity and Mark Levin have an active presence on the platform. Lawmakers who have given strong support to Mr. Trump, including Rep. Devin Nunes of California and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, also have active accounts, as does Mr. Buck.

After the mob attack on the Capitol building on January 6, Apple and other large technology companies quickly went on to break ties with Parler, who had given some people involved in the attack a forum to discuss their plans. Amazon.com Inc.

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suspended Parler from its web hosting services. Alphabet Inc.,

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like Apple, it also removed Parler from its app store.

In response to criticism that served as the scene of the Capitol attack, Parler has said he sent dozens of examples of violent content to the FBI in the weeks leading up to the crowd gathered in Washington, DC

Apple had previously denied a previous attempt by Parler to seek reinstatement.

Parler has filed a lawsuit against Amazon for cutting off web hosting services, saying it did so for anti-competitive reasons. Parler gained limited functionality in February after securing Internet services hosted by SkySilk Inc., which operates from a data center in the Los Angeles area. Users could access the service through a web browser or if they had previously installed the application on their mobile devices.

It is outside the Google Play Store and a Parler spokesperson said earlier that he was not actively trying to restore the app to the store, as it can be accessed in other ways. Parler provides instructions on its website for users to install the app on Android devices without going through the official app store.

Write to Matt Grossman to [email protected]