But not before it shot to No. 1 on the App Store.
From the New York Times’ “Apple and Google Cut Off Parler, an App That Drew Trump Supporters” posted late Saturday:
Parler, a social network that pitches itself as a “free speech” alternative to Twitter and Facebook, is suffering from whiplash.
Over the past several months, Parler has become one of the fastest-growing apps in the United States. Millions of President Trump’s supporters have flocked to it as Facebook and Twitter increasingly cracked down on posts that spread misinformation and incited violence, including muzzling Mr. Trump by removing his accounts this past week. By Saturday morning, Apple listed Parler as the No. 1 free app for its iPhones.
But hours later, Apple said it had removed Parler from its App Store. Google had made a similar move a day earlier. The companies both said that Parler had not sufficiently policed the conversation on its app, allowing too many posts that encouraged violence and crime.
“We have always supported diverse points of view being represented on the App Store, but there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity,” Apple said in a statement late Saturday. “Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety.”
My take: Like a lot of people, apparently, I downloaded Parler today while I still had the chance. Had to see for myself.
See also: Twitter bans Trump; Apple gives Parler 24 hours
UPDATE: Amazon too.
When the tide goes out on this administration – and all the corruption is revealed – my bet is that few will ever admit to have supported this jackal.
“…(more accurately, morons)…”
You mean “morans”, don’t you? /s
knowyourmeme dot com/memes/get-a-brain-morans
Calls for the hanging of VP Pence were up for days.
That is not protected free speech, not when:
a.) it’s on a private platform and
b.) calling for the death of a political opponent
Such language is addressed PDQ on Twitter, and the response time decreases based on the number of people who see it.
The law of unintended consequences has not been repealed. (In fact, like Murphy’s law it can’t.) The urge to control what people say and how they say it will not end well. We are becoming more and more a society of restricted speech and modes of thought.
So how would you deal with the person falsely yelling “fire” in the crowded theater? Would you defend their free speech rights or take away their megaphone?
This is not right vs left, this is sanity and stability vs insanity and chaos. Example; I disagree with almost 100% of what Ben Sasse says .. but he is someone I could have a sane argument with, with no one urging a resort to violence.
Obviously I’m not going to support the idea of someone yelling fire in a crowded theater. But I don’t believe that the Supreme Court outlawed people’s ability to yell fire in general. What was outlawed in Schenk v United States (1919) and and then further qualified in Brandenburg V. Ohio (1969) was speech directed to and likely to incite “imminent lawless action”. I think that the word imminent is the controlling concept.
“Obviously I’m not going to support the idea of someone yelling fire in a crowded theater.”
Yes, but some do (support yelling fire in a crowded theater), and others are actually yelling. We need to put a stop to them before any more damage is done.
As Paul said, it’s not political. If you’re working to divide, purposefully or not, or if you think that this divisiveness is somehow benefiting you or your cause, and you thus favor it, then you’re on the wrong side.
IMO, there is plenty of $$$$$ on Parler’s side to fund creation of a separate and probably competing social media network of some kind. Those who wish to hear or join will and spend their money there. Advertisers and others who wish to make money in other ways will also flock there. The market, free or not, will suggest that, like Fox News, there’s profit (OAN, Newsmax) to be made, at least until you get turned on/out from a transactional relationship going sour.