Parler Files Antitrust Suit Against Amazon

Company wants judge to order it reinstated
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 11, 2021 2:28 PM CST
Parler Sues Amazon
Parler blames Amazon's move on 'political animus."   (Wikimedia Commons)

Parler, which went offline early Monday after Amazon pulled it from its web-hosting service, has asked a federal judge to order its reinstatement. The social media company filed a lawsuit in federal court in Seattle Monday, saying Amazon's "decision to effectively terminate Parler's account is apparently motivated by political animus," the BBC reports. "It is also apparently designed to reduce competition in the microblogging services market to the benefit of Twitter," the lawsuit states. Over the weekend, Amazon told Parler—which touts itself as a "free speech" alternative to Twitter—that it had seen an increase in violent content on the platform, a violation of its terms of service.

The app, which was earlier removed from the Apple and Google Play stores, saw a massive surge in users after the Capitol riot Wednesday, the Hill reports. The lawsuit accuses Amazon of violating antitrust laws and complains that making the app inaccessible "will kill Parler’s business—at the very time it is set to skyrocket." CEO John Matze says the site is looking for a new hosting service but could be offline for up to a week. "As more of a libertarian, more of a minimal government type of person, I hate relying on the legal system," he tells the Wall Street Journal. "I know we have to." (More Parler stories.)

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