Stagwell Group President and Managing Partner Mark Penn discusses President-elect Joe Biden’s stimulus proposal and censorship on social media.
Parler resurfaced online with a status update on Sunday night from CEO John Matze to the “lovers and haters” of the alternative social media platform, noting that the company plans to welcome its users “back soon”.
“Hey, is this thing on?” Matze wrote. “Now it seems the right time to remind all of you – lovers and haters – why we started this platform. We believe that privacy is fundamental and freedom of expression is essential, especially on social media. Our goal has always been to provide a non-partisan public square where individuals can enjoy and exercise their rights to both. We will resolve any challenges before us and plan to get you all back soon. We will not allow civil discourse to disappear! “
PARLER CEO: “NO INDICATION” BIG TECH SHTUDOWN THREATS WERE “DEADLY SERIOUS” UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE
The announcement came after Parler registered his domain on the host-sharing site Epik last week, following Amazon Web Services’ decision to shut down Parler for not moderating “shocking content” related to the January 6 Capitol riot.
Epik senior vice president of communications Robert Davis told FOX Business in an interview that the company spoke to Parler after his domain registration about techniques he could use to improve his moderation and oversight practices if he returned in the future, but noted that hosting the platform was not discussed.
Representatives from Parler and Epik did not immediately return FOX Business’s request for comment.
PARLER, AMAZON RETENTION FEUD IN THE HANDS OF THE JUDGE
Parler is suing Amazon for his decision to sever ties, claiming the action is “motivated by political animosity” and is both a breach of contract and an antitrust violation.
Parler’s lawyer, David Groesbeck, argued during a hearing on Thursday that the company would suffer irreparable damage if it were forced to close permanently and that it is in the public interest to restore the platform’s service.
“Millions of law-abiding Americans have been silenced,” said Groesbeck. “There is no evidence, other than anecdotal references from the press, that Parler was involved in inciting the riots.”
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Amazon cited examples of violent content during the hearing that claims to have appeared on the platform, including calls to assassinate Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, Amazon Jeff Jeffos, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and members of the media.
Amazon lawyer Ambika Doran noted that abusive posts were just the “tip of the iceberg” and that it is in the public interest to deny Parler’s injunction based on the January 6 events.
“The January 6 events changed the way we think about the world. We took what was merely hypothetical and made it scarily real,” said Doran. “Amazon had every right, after this happened, with the wave of violent content in Parler, to take that into account when making the decision it made.”
When asked by Judge Barbara Rothstein whether Amazon Web Services would restore Parler if they implemented moderation policies, Doran said there is “no reason” to believe that Parler could develop an effective moderation plan in the next 30 days.
“They didn’t want to and they couldn’t,” said Doran.
Rothstein said on Thursday that he will act “as soon as possible” to make his decision to grant Parler a temporary restoration order.
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In addition to Amazon, Google and Apple suspended Parler at their respective app stores.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 3,104.25 | -23.22 | -0.74% |
| GOOGL | ALPHABET INC. | 1,727.62 | -3.30 | -0.19% |
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 127.14 | -1.77 | -1.37% |
“We saw the incitement to violence that was there. And we don’t think freedom of speech and incitement to violence intersect, ”Cook told presenter Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday in defense of the decision.
However, Cook also noted that if Parler succeeds in “gathering moderation”, the service will be restored on the App Store.
Parler, who is favored by many supporters of President Trump, claims to have more than 12 million users.