Parler launched in 2018 as a free-flowing social networking site for users fed up with the rules of Facebook and Twitter, and quickly gained fans of President Trump’s supporters. On Monday, it got dark, falling for a reflection on his most permissive approach.
Amazon.com Inc. it abruptly ended the company’s web hosting services, effectively halting its operations, prompting Parler to sue Amazon in Seattle federal court. Other technology partners also acted, paralyzing operations.
The decision was the decision of last week’s mass attack on the U.S. Capitol. On the afternoon of the riot, Amazon warned Parler executives that they had received reports that the social media platform was hosting “inappropriate” content and that Parler had 24 hours to address it.
“We’ve been dealing with this type of content properly for weeks and are actively working with law enforcement,” Amler Peikoff, Parler’s policy chief, told Amazon a few hours later in an email reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
Amazon responded Thursday, “Please consider it resolved.” The email gave Parler executives confidence that his moderation system, however widespread, was acceptable to his technology partner.