Parler CEO After Apple, Google Play Moves: 'We Won't Cave!'

Google Play has yanked the Parler app, and it looks like Apple is about to
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 9, 2021 8:30 AM CST
Google Play Yanks Parler App, Apple May Follow Suit
Some social media users aren't going to be happy.   (Getty Images/ponsulak)

On the same day Twitter permanently banned President Trump due to what it says was a risk of further incitement of violence, another social media platform found itself contending with its own troubles related to the same. CNN Business reported Friday that Google Play has yanked the app for Parler, the social network popular with conservatives and the far right, and Google says it won't be allowed back in the store until Parler cleans up some major problems. "We're aware of continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the US," a Google rep says. "For us to distribute an app through Google Play, we do require that apps implement robust moderation for egregious content." The rep adds that, "in light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app's listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues."

BuzzFeed News had reported earlier Friday that Apple was considering a similar move, and that the company had issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Parler to put in place a "full moderation plan." John Matze, the CEO of Parler—which the New York Times notes has pitched itself as "Twitter without rules"—isn't happy about these developments. "We will and always have enforced our rules against violence and illegal activity," he wrote in a Parler post. "But we WONT cave to politically motivated companies and those authoritarians who hate free speech!" If Apple ends up pulling the app out of its portal, users with iPhones can still use the app if it's already on their phones, but it will eventually become obsolete as Apple updates the phone software. Android users can still get the app with a little legwork, as those phones allow for third-party app stores other than Google Play. (More Parler stories.)

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