Alphabet’s Google suspended social networking service Parler from the app store on Friday, citing messages inciting violence and demanding “ robust ” content moderation from the app, which is a favorite of many supporters of US President Donald Trump.
Apple also gave the service 24 hours on Friday to submit a detailed moderation plan, pointing out participants who used the service to coordinate Wednesday’s siege of the US Capitol building.
The actions of the two Silicon Valley companies mean that the network perceived as a haven for people banned from Twitter could become unavailable for new downloads within a day from the world’s major cell phone app stores. . It would still be available on mobile browsers.
Right-wing social media users in the United States have flocked to Parler, messaging app Telegram and hands-off social site Gab, citing the more aggressive scrutiny of political comments on mainstream platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Twitter permanently suspended President Trump’s account on Friday.
In suspending the service, Google, whose software supports Android phones, quoted its policy against apps that promote violence and provided recent examples from Parler, including a message on Friday that began, “How do we take back our country? or so coordinated hits “and another promotes a” Million Militar March “in Washington.
John Matze, Parler’s Chief Executive, said in a post on Friday that Apple applies standards to Parler that do not apply to themselves.
In a statement, Google said that “if we want to distribute an app through Google Play, we require apps to implement robust moderation for blatant content. In light of this ongoing and urgent threat to public safety, we suspend the app’s listings. Keep the Play until these issues are resolved. “
In a letter from Apple’s App Store review team to Parler, seen by Reuters, Apple quoted participants from the crowd that stormed the Capitol on Wednesday.
“Content that threatens the well-being of others or is intended to incite violence or other lawless acts has never been acceptable on the App Store,” Apple said in the letter.
Apple gave Parler 24 hours to “remove all objectionable content from your app … as well as any content that refers to harm to people or attacks on government facilities now or in the future.” The company also required Parler to submit a written plan “to moderate and filter this content” from within the app.
Apple declined to comment.
Matze, who describes himself as a libertarian, founded Parler in 2018 as a “free speech-driven” alternative to mainstream platforms, but began courting right-wing users when prominent Trump supporters moved there.
Those who joined include commentator Candace Owens, Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani and right-wing activist Laura Loomer, who handcuffed herself to the door of Twitter’s New York office in November 2018 to protest a ban on her by the site. . In November, conservative activist Rebekah Mercer confirmed that she and her family, including her father and hedge fund investor Robert Mercer, have provided funding to Parler.
“Apparently they believe Parler is responsible for ALL user generated content on Parler,” said Matze. “That’s why Apple must be responsible, following the same logic, for ALL actions taken by their phones. Every car bomb, every illegal cell phone call, every illegal crime committed on an iPhone should also be responsible,” he wrote. . Standards that don’t apply to Twitter, Facebook, or even Apple itself apply to Parler.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
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