Parler Says It Is Now 'Here to Stay'

Parler is back after more than a month offline, with a new CEO—but none of its old content. It's not clear whether the removal of old posts is the result of the social media site's removal from host Amazon Web Services last month or a "scorched-earth policy regarding the content that got the site in hot water in the first place," TechCrunch notes. The site, which was dropped by AWS days after the Capitol riot for a failure to moderate violent content, said Monday that it is "here to stay," with a new platform built on "sustainable, independent technology," ending its reliance on "so-called Big Tech," reports Reuters. It said it will focus initially on bringing back existing users and is planning to open to new users next week.

Parler remains banned from app stores. Fired CEO John Matze has been replaced with Mark Meckler, founder of the Tea Party Patriots. Rory Cellan-Jones at the BBC says Parler soared in popularity early last month as Donald Trump and many of his supporters were banned from Twitter, but its momentum was abruptly halted. "Now it is back, but in a very limited form. It is still unavailable on app stores and with no way yet for new users to sign up," he writes. "It feels as though its moment has passed." Cellan-Jones notes that the only person who could "give Parler its mojo back" might be Trump himself. "But so far he seems reluctant to show up at a party which feels like it's over." (More Parler stories.)