Social media app Parler is back online, no thanks to mainstream tech services. The Trump-friendly platform, which went dark last month after the US Capitol riot, relaunched Monday with a new platform built on “sustainable, independent technology,” Reuters reported.
Amazon, Google, and Apple in January dropped access to Parler (not to be confused with “social talking app” Parlor), citing its alleged use to help coordinate the D.C. insurrection. The social network partially returned less than two weeks later, this time powered by Russian-owned DDos-Guard.
Efforts to rebuild were led by Chief Executive John Matze, who promised that Parler would “resolve any challenge before us” and welcome users back “soon”—before being fired on Jan. 29. In a memo obtained by Fox News, Matze suggests the dismissal was based on his support for stronger content moderation. New interim CEO Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots and president of Citizens for Self-Governance, was announced Monday.
“Parler was built to offer a social media platform that protects free speech and values privacy and civil discourse,” Meckler said in a statement, a screenshot of which was tweeted by tech news reporter Tyler Adkisson. “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.”
The website, which claims to host more than 20 million users, is initially available only to existing followers, and will open to “Americans of all viewpoints” next week. It appears to be operating via CloudRoute/SkySilk, and, according to computer programmer @donk_enby (who cataloged Parler posts from the day of the Capitol riot), replaced Amazon Web Services with open-source software platform Ceph.
“Parler is being run by an experienced team and is here to stay,” Meckler said. “We will thrive as the premier social media platform dedicated to free speech, privacy, and civil dialogue.”
