The alternative social network Parler was reopened after a month offline. The company announced in a press release that the site is now accessible to users with existing accounts and will accept new applications starting next week. Also announced is a new interim CEO: Mark Meckler, who previously co-founded the right-wing Tea Party Patriots. The relaunch comes after Apple, Google and Amazon suspended the service following the January attack on the United States Capitol, citing violent threats on the platform.
Old Parler user accounts have been restored, but the old “trades” – the site’s term for posts – don’t seem to have continued. Some key users, like Fox News host Sean Hannity, have already started posting on the new site. The schedules for other important accounts, such as fellow presenter Tucker Carlson or Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), remain empty. Many posts were previously archived by an outside researcher who removed them before their removal.
Parler describes himself as politically unaffiliated, but the vaguely moderate site has become popular with conservative users who have been banned from larger sites or disagreed with fact-checking policies and moderating platforms like Twitter and Facebook. After the election, it became a center for the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” campaign, which turned into a deadly attempt to overthrow the US election on January 6. The site went offline on January 10, when its former Amazon Web Services host suspended its account.
The platform has now been relaunched with what a press release calls “independent, robust and sustainable technology”. Parler transferred his domain registration in January to Epik, a registrar known for providing a haven for far-right “deplored” sites.
However, Parler remains in an uncertain position. Apple and Google have not restored their app to their stores, and are still fighting an ongoing lawsuit against Amazon, where a judge appeared insensitive to their claims. Its previous CEO, John Matze, said he was fired in early February, and the company is now “conducting a thorough search for a permanent CEO” who will replace Meckler. It is also under scrutiny in Congress – where the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), has requested documents on Parler’s financing and operations.