Parler Cleared for App Store Return

Apple says Parler has agreed to make changes
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 19, 2021 1:57 PM CDT
Apple Says Parler Can Return to App Store
Parler has been approved to return to the App Store, Apple says,   (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP, File)

In what Republican Rep. Ken Buck calls a "huge win for free speech," Apple has decided to allow social media app Parler to return to the App store. In a letter Buck tweeted Monday, Apple exec Timothy Powderly said Apple has approved a version of the app with improved content moderation policies, the Wall Street Journal reports. Powderly also defended Apple's decision to pull the app, which was popular with conservatives, from the App Store after the Capitol riot, reports NBC. It was banned for policies that failed to deal with posts that "encouraged violence, denigrated various ethnic groups, races and religions, glorified Nazism, and called for violence against specific people," Powderly wrote.

In the letter, Powderly said Parler's revised app was approved after "substantial conversations" about its moderation policies. The letter was sent in response to enquiries from Buck and Sen. Mike Lee—the top Republicans on the House and Senate antitrust panels—after the banning, Politico reports. No word from Google yet on whether Parler will also be allowed to return to Google Play. Parler is part-owned by GOP megadonor Rebekah Spencer. In a lawsuit filed last month, co-founder John Matze, who was fired as chief executive, says he was told his 40% stake in Parler was worth just $3. (More Parler stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X