Apple CEO Tim Cook defended the removal of Parler from his company’s App Store, saying he sees no “crossroads” between the right to freedom of expression and the ability to provoke violence.
Apple and Google launched the conservative social media site’s app, and Amazon – Web Services dropped Parler from its servers – after the violent riot in the Capitol on Jan. 6 that resulted in the deaths of five people, including a cop.
“We looked at the incitement to violence that took place there. And we believe that freedom of speech and incitement to violence have no crossroads, ”Cook told host Chris Wallace on“ Fox News Sunday ”.
Cook said there are more than 2 million apps on the App Store and they are all expected to comply with the terms of service.
“We obviously have no control over what is on the Internet, but we never saw that our platform should be a simple replication of the Internet. We have rules and regulations and we just ask that people adhere to them, ”said Apple’s CEO in the interview that aired on Sunday.
Asked by Wallace if taking Parler away from Apple would drive users deeper into the underground, Cook said this need not be the case.
‘We only suspended them for us. And so, if they got their moderation together, they would be there again, ”he said.
After Twitter and a number of other Big Tech platforms banned President Trump for his comments in response to the chaos in the Capitol, many of his supporters flocked to Parler, which has fewer restrictions on content.
John Martze, Parler’s CEO, has sued Amazon for violations of US antitrust law for removing the social media company from its servers.
He said he and his family have been in hiding because of death threats and ongoing harassment.