Social media network Parler may soon find itself forced off the internet if Amazon makes good on its ban to suspend the company’s access to Amazon Web Services (AWS).
BuzzFeed News reports the platform was advised of its pending suspension from AWS in 24 hours on Saturday, Jan. 9. Parler’s chief policy officer Amy Peikoff reportedly received an email from AWS’s Trust and Safety Team outlining a series of transgressions. The team points out it flagged 98 different examples of “posts that clearly encourage and incite violence.”
“It’s clear that Parler does not have an effective process to comply with the AWS terms of service,” the email reads. “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 effective Sunday, January 10th, at 11:59PM PST.”
In response, Parler CEO John Matze told users the network would be offline for a week. The team would need to “rebuild from scratch” after its removal from AWS. “We will try our best to move to a new provider right now as we have many competing for our business,” Matze said.
Parler was also removed from Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store over the weekend. This move followed President Donald Trump’s ban from most major social media platforms. Parler users unhappy with this turn of events after Wednesday’s riots at the US Capitol have continued rallying for violence.
It’s unclear where Parler plans to set up shop next without access to AWS. Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
