According to a group of Amazon employees, Amazon assists Parler in operation by hosting its web traffic on its servers. These employees and at least one member of Congress have asked Amazon to ban Parler from this service, which could jeopardize its viability. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.
Apple’s action is more of an issue for Parler than Google, as Apple requires all iPhone apps to go through the App Store. Google cut Parler out of its flagship Android app store, but it also allows apps to be downloaded from elsewhere, so Android users can still find the Parler app, just with a little more work. Parler will continue to be available through web browsers on phones and computers.
Before Apple blocked Parler on Saturday, Apple had given the company 24 hours to improve moderation and avoid being removed from the App Store. During this time, Parler appeared to have tried to remove some areas that appeared to call for violence.
For example, L. Lin Wood, an attorney who sued to overturn Mr. Trump’s election loss, wrote on Parler Thursday morning: “Prepare the firing squad. Pence goes first. “According to a screenshot in the Internet archive, the post was viewed at least 788,000 times. The post was removed on Saturday morning.
In a text message, Mr. Matze said the item had been removed “in accordance with Parler’s Terms of Use and Anti-Incitement to Violence Rules”. He said he wasn’t sure Apple knew Parler removed the post.
In a statement to Parler on Saturday, Apple said it had “continued to find direct threats of violence and incitement to illegal activity” in the app. Apple informed the company that its app cannot be approved in the App Store until “you have demonstrated your ability to effectively moderate and filter the dangerous and harmful content of your service”.
In an interview, Jeffrey Wernick, Parler’s chief operating officer, blamed “a culture of abandonment at Apple” for the company’s poor prospects. He said he would advise other platforms not to try and compete on Apple’s App Store. “Because if you raise money and attract investors and end up like Parler, what is it about?” he said.
