Parler CEO Says He Gave 'Wrong Impression' About 'Free Speech' Site

With the threat of Amazon Web Services pulling the plug at midnight Sunday on Parler, the conservative site’s CEO John Matze said in a statement that his media company does not “condone or accept violence on our platform and we never will.” 

The move by Amazon and other tech companies to distance themselves from Parler comes amid growing concerns the service could be used to promote violence in the wake of Wednesday's attack on the U.S. Capitol building, following a rally.

Apple and Google both removed Parler’s mobile app from their store.

Matze's statement asserts that during an interview last week, some got the impression that he didn’t care whether Parler is used to incite violence, but that could not be further from the truth.  

“I founded Parler to be a place of open dialogue and discussion where we could work to move past the anger and hostility that seems to be consuming our otherwise civil society,” he said. “Parler strives to bring people together and find common ground, peace and healing.”

Matze points to community guidelines for the company forbids content that incites or threatens violence, or other activity which breaks the law. We’ve worked even harder to construct a system that engages the community to quickly and transparently remove prohibited content.

He said Parler is not a surveillance app, so developers can’t just write a few algorithms that will quickly identify objectionable content, especially during periods of rapid growth and the seemingly coordinated malicious attacks that accompany that growth. 

He also asserted that up until Friday afternoon, Apple, Amazon, and Google seemed to agree.

We care deeply and are committed to being part of the long-term solution to save civil discourse,” Matze said.

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