Disconnected from the internet by Amazon, Parler files a complaint

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TECHNO – The popular social network of Donald Trump supporters, Parler, filed a complaint on Monday, January 11 against Amazon, which kicked him from the internet by preventing him from accessing its servers for having, according to the tech giant , let problematic messages proliferate after the assault on the Capitol.

Amazon had announced that it would suspend Parler’s account at 8:00 a.m. GMT on Monday, explaining in a letter to the conservative site that it “recently observed a persistent increase in violent content”.

But Parler believes that this decision is motivated more by political considerations and by the desire to reduce competition to the benefit of Twitter. She also criticizes Amazon for not giving her thirty days’ notice before cutting the bridges. Also Parler is asking the court to prevent Amazon from blocking its servers.

“It’s like disconnecting a patient on life support. This will kill the business, just as it was skyrocketing, ”Parler wrote in his complaint.

“We will do everything to get back online”

The tech giants Apple and Google had previously withdrawn from their application download platforms the social network where, according to them, “threats of violence” and “illegal activities” were increasing.

All these groups criticize Parler for a policy of moderation that is too lax. The popularity of the site skyrocketed after the final closure by Twitter of Donald Trump’s account on Friday: its application was the most downloaded in the United States on Saturday on Apple’s platform.

In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, site co-founder John Matze noted that getting the site up and running could take time. “All our partners, those who manage the text messages, the emails, our lawyers, have let us down the same day,” he lamented.

“We’re going to do everything we can to get back online as quickly as possible but all the suppliers we contact tell us that they don’t want to work with us if Apple or Google doesn’t approve,” he said. he explains. And it is difficult to find “300 to 500 computer servers in 24 hours”. In a statement Sunday evening, he reaffirmed his desire to make Parler a place of “open dialogue” where violence was in no way tolerated.

Gab and profit

Launched in 2018, the social network works a bit like Twitter, with profiles to follow and “parlys” instead of tweets. Based in Henderson, Nevada, it was started by John Matze, a computer engineer, and Rebekah Mercer, a major donor to the Republican Party.

The platform attracted especially at its beginnings ultra-conservative fringes, even extreme-right. But it also now welcomes more traditional Republican voices. Fox News anchor Sean Hannity had 7.6 million subscribers there before Talking was suspended; his colleague Tucker Carlson had 4.4 million. Republican politicians such as parliamentarian Devin Nunes or South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem were also present.

Already in full swing, the application had welcomed in recent days a profusion of new subscribers ulcerated by Twitter’s decision to ban Donald Trump. Other mainstream networks like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Twitch have also suspended the profile of the tenant of the White House.

Many fans of the US president have flocked to conservative platforms like Parler or Gab. The latter has also taken advantage of the events to gain hundreds of thousands of subscribers in recent hours. About “600,000 to 700,000” Internet users currently register on the platform every day, said Andrew Torba, co-founder and CEO of this social network created in August 2016, in a video.

Now that the tech giants have made it clear that they will crack down on sites and apps that continue to relay extreme messages, conservative social media are likely to have to adjust. The live video service DLive, used by several protesters during the Capitol invasion on Wednesday, has banned seven channels and removed more than 100 videos from its site. Some might choose to do like Gab, who has set up his own servers so as not to depend on outside companies.

See also on The HuffPost: In Washington, the pro-Trump did not have the same reception as “Black Lives Matter”