A Spokane lawyer is leading the legal battle in federal court over conservative social network Parler, who was kicked out of the internet because of ties to last week’s deadly siege of the United States Capitol.
Spokane’s attorney David J. Groesbeck opened the breach of contract process on Monday in Seattle on behalf of Parler against Amazon Web Services. Amazon made the call over the weekend to end its role as a hosting provider, which effectively took Parler off the web. Google and Apple also removed the Parler app from their mobile app stores this weekend.
Groesbeck argued in the lawsuit filed in the Western District of Washington that Amazon was required to notify Parler 30 days in advance before ending the service.
“When Twitter announced two nights ago that it was permanently banning President Trump from its platform, conservative users started fleeing Twitter en masse by Parler,” wrote Groesbeck. “The exodus was so great that the next day, yesterday, Parler became the number one free app downloaded from the Apple App Store.”
He explained that Amazon officials argued that they were not confident that Parler could properly police his “content that encourages or incites violence” platform. Parler does not employ content moderators and artificial intelligence to eradicate and remove violent posts like Twitter and Facebook.
“On Friday night, one of the most popular tweets on Twitter was ‘Hang Mike Pence’,” wrote Groesbeck. “But (Amazon) has no plans or made threats to suspend the Twitter account.”
Groesbeck did not respond on Monday to voice and text messages left by The Spokesman-Review.
It is not exactly clear how Groesbeck got involved with the Seattle process. He has been practicing law in Spokane for decades, said Doug Siddoway, a partner at Randall | Danskin PS, where Groesbeck worked before opening his own legal office.
“David is a thoughtful guy,” said Siddoway. “I don’t think any lawyer should be … labeled simply because they take a case for an unpopular client.”
Siddoway, 69, has been practicing law in Spokane since 1985. He said that lawyers have a duty to represent people who have just claims, even if those arguments are detested in the public eye.
“This is not a First Amendment case like the city of Coeur d’Alene denying a parade license to (the late leader of the Aryan Nations, Pastor Richard) Butler,” said Siddoway. “This is a commercial case of breach of contract.”
According to Groesbeck’s complaint, he noted that Amazon employees found 98 examples that “clearly encourage and incite violence”, including someone who posted: “How about making them stop?”
Siddoway said he thinks the Groesbeck process is an uphill battle.
“You cannot expect the Amazons and googles of the world to continue to create a website populated by those who appear to have the intention of subverting the Constitution and democracy,” he said.
Parler, who likes to position himself as a competitor to Twitter’s “free speech”, gained public prominence last year amid a conservative reaction against social media sites, especially when President Donald Trump attacked Facebook and Twitter for what claimed to be censoring your posts.
Parler CEO John Matze told the Associated Press that the actions of Apple, Google and Amazon were “a coordinated attack by technology giants to eliminate competition in the market”.
The company was launched by an investment by billionaire Republican megadonora Rebekah Mercer, who with her father helped finance Trump, the far-right website Breitbart News and Cambridge Analytica. Right-wing commentator Dan Bongino is also an investor and frequent user of the site.
Groesbeck, in the lawsuit filed on behalf of Parler, argued that Amazon was conspiring against the company after recently entering into a multi-year agreement with Twitter. He asked a federal judge for a temporary restraining order to prevent Amazon from closing the site.
“Parler tried to find alternative companies to host it, but he couldn’t,” wrote Groesbeck. “You have no other options. And a delay in granting this (restraining order) for up to a day may also sound Parler’s death sentence as President Trump and others leave for other platforms. “
By midday on Monday, Parler had already taken at least one step towards relaunching.
According to the Seattle Times, Parler transferred his domain name to Sammamish’s Epik, which also hosts the far-right social network Gab. However, Parler still needs a new hosting provider.
Epik issued a lengthy statement on Sunday, criticizing Twitter and Facebook for suspending accounts of Trump and his supporters. He also likened the January 6 US Capitol insurrection to ongoing protests against police brutality, triggered by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last May.
In 2018, Epik announced that it would stop hosting the far-right message board 8chan after the police linked its users to three mass shootings.
“Without smarter judgment outside of a crowd-based (sic) judgment of instant convenience, the decisions we now make can be used to reduce the freedoms that many take for granted,” the statement said, according to the Seattle Times.
Despite the accused arguments, Siddoway said he hopes that Groesbeck, his two-decade-old friend and colleague, is not somehow painted with the same brush as those who would use social media to spread the violence.
“Lawyers are vilified because of the clients they represent. This is not how it should work, ”said Siddoway. “Everyone is entitled to their day in court.”
The Washington Post and the Associated Press contributed to this report.