Parler faces going out of business after being cut off by tech companies

Parler was removed from Apple and Google's app stores over the weekend

Credit: AFP

Parler, the social network that has positioned itself as a “free speech” alternative to Facebook and Twitter, has admitted it may shut down completely after multiple service providers ended ties with the company.

After being removed from Apple and Google’s app stores, Parler’s server provider, Amazon Web Services, cut off the company on Monday morning, sending its website and apps offline. A number of other providers such as Twilio, which provides text message authentication, and ZenDesk, whose software handles customer service queries, also suspended Parler’s accounts.

Parler’s chief executive John Matze had said the company planned to resume service within a week after being dropped by Amazon, but has now admitted that the wave of rejections, and thwarted efforts to find new providers, mean it might not be able to recover.

"We will likely be down longer than expected," he said in a statement. "This is not due to software restrictions — we have our software and everyone’s data ready to go. Rather it’s that Amazon’s Google’s and Apple’s statements to the press about dropping our access has caused most of our other vendors to drop their support for us as well." 

“We’re going to try our best to get back online as quickly as possible. But we’re having a lot of trouble because every vendor we talk to says they won’t work with us,” Matze had earlier told Fox News. Because if Apple doesn’t approve and Google doesn’t approve, they won’t. 

“It would put anybody out of business. This thing could destroy anybody.”

Parler has millions of users and had shot to the top of Apple’s App Store before it was removed in the wake of Donald Trump being suspended from Facebook and Twitter. It had been seen as a potential platform for the US President. Prominent supporters and allies including his son, Donald Trump Jr, had joined Parler.

Apple removed the app on Saturday saying it had failed to crack down on threats of violence on the service and that it had received complaints that last week’s assault on the US Capitol building had been partly planned on the app.

“We have always supported diverse points of view being represented on the App Store, but there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity,” the company said. 

“Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety. We have suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues.”

Mr Matze claimed that tech companies had colluded to limit Parler. “They all work together to make sure at the same time we would lose access to not only our apps, but they’re actually shutting all of our servers off tonight,” he said.