According to multiple media reports, Amazon suspended social media platform Parler from its web hosting service on Saturday evening.
The company, founded by Jeff Bezos
Jeffrey (Jeff) Preston BezosWorld’s Richest People Added .8T To Their Combined Net Worth In 2020 Amazon delivered more than 1.5 billion items during the Washington Post holiday season to add more than 150 jobs next year, pushing the newsroom to record size MORE, said Parler’s lack of content moderation led to the removal of his web hosting service, calling it a “very real risk to public safety,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
According to the WSJ, Parler is only available to web hosting service users until 11:59 PM PST Sunday, when the suspension takes effect.
Amazon is the latest tech giant taking steps to restrict the social networking app favored by conservatives and right-wing groups due to a lack of content moderation. The online retailer is following in the footsteps of Apple, which stopped the Parler app on Saturday morning, and Google, which removed the platform from its app store on Friday evening.
The suspension of Parler’s account by Amazon means the app is at risk of going offline on Sunday evening, Buzzfeed News said.
Parler has recently come under scrutiny in the wake of the violent attacks on the Capitol, after various media outlets reported that Parler was being used to coordinate the riots.
Since then, on January 19, the day before the president-elect, users have called for another violent descent into the country’s capital Joe Biden
Joe Biden US judge blocks Trump administration restrictions on eligibility for asylum must be sworn in, according to Buzzfeed.
The Amazon Web Services (AWS) Trust and Safety team sent an email to Amy Peikoff, Parler’s Chief Policy Officer, explaining their decision.
“Recently, we have seen a steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms,” read the email, obtained by Buzzfeed. “Obviously, Parler does not have an effective process to comply with AWS terms of service.”
The email will state when the suspension will take effect.
“[W]e cannot provide services to a customer who is unable to effectively identify and remove content that encourages or incites violence against others. Because Parler cannot comply with our terms of service and poses a very real risk to public safety, we plan to suspend Parler’s account starting Sunday, January 10 at 11:59 pm PST. “
Updated 11:04 pm