Parler is back after going dark for a month

Parler announced that it will relaunch independently of other hosting services.

The social media site went down in January when Amazon Web Services, which hosted Parler, suspended it for violating Amazon's terms of service. Parler was also suspended from the Apple and Google Play app stores for its lack of content moderation, which fostered discussions openly encouraging the riot at the Capitol last month.

Parler's lack of content moderation is what made it so popular among far-right incendiaries who were banned from other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook for violating community guidelines. Both Amazon and Apple gave Parler the chance to implement and enforce stricter moderation. Instead, Parler announced Monday that it rebuilt from scratch and is relaunching to operate independently.

"When Parler was taken offline in January by those who desire to silence tens of millions of Americans, our team came together, determined to keep our promise to our highly engaged community that we would return stronger than ever," interim CEO Mark Meckler announced.

Apple and Google Play cited concerns over Parler's lack of robust content moderation policy ahead of suspending the platform from their app stores, which made it unavailable for download and updates. The lack of moderation made Parler a haven for users who had been kicked off more mainstream sites, and Google, citing the "ongoing and urgent public safety threat," stated that apps require "robust" content moderation to be distributed through its Google Play store. In a similar move, Apple stated that Parler had not "taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people's safety."

Amazon's suspension was the nail in the coffin for the site. The Amazon Web Service Trust and Safety Team told Parler Chief Policy Officer Amy Peikoff that the "steady increase in violent content" on the site violated Amazon's terms.

"It's clear that Parler does not have an effective process to comply with the AWS terms of service," an email obtained by BuzzFeed News said.

Current Parler account holders will be able to join this week. Some popular users, like Fox News host Sean Hannity, are already posting, the Verge reports. New users will have to wait until next week to create an account.

“Parler is being run by an experienced team and is here to stay," Meckler continued. "We will thrive as the premier social media platform dedicated to free speech, privacy, and civil dialogue."

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