Parler sues Amazon after latter suspended its services for inciting US Capitol violence

The right-wing inclined social network Parler has sued Amazon on Monday after the tech giant kicked it off its web-hosting service over ties to last week’s siege on the United States Capitol and interference with the company's business relationships with users. This came as the third blow to the social networking app after Google and Apple banned it from their respective app stores for “inciting ongoing violence in the U.S.”

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Parler is popular among supporters of US President Donald Trump

Parler is a social network founded as a less moderated and more conservative-friendly alternative to Facebook and Twitter. The US microblogging site has a user base of conservatives, conspiracy theorists, and right-wing extremists. Launched in 2018, the app also has proved particularly popular among supporters of US President Donald Trump. 

The lawsuit filed by the social network read, "Without Amazon Web Services (AWS), Parler is finished as it has no way to get online... And a delay of granting this TRO by even one day could also sound Parler's death knell as President Trump and others move on to other platforms."

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Parler’s lawsuit in a federal court made the argument that Amazon violated antitrust laws to harm Parler and help Twitter. It also alleged that Amazon breached its contract by not giving 30 days of notice before terminating Parler’s account. Amazon and Parler did not return requests for comment about the dispute on Monday.

Amazon had earlier said, "We've seen a steady increase in violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms... It's clear that Parler does not have an effective process to comply with the AWS terms of service."

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Parler CEO John Matze decried the punishments as “a coordinated attack by the tech giants to kill competition in the marketplace.”

This comes after Twitter permanently suspended Trump’s account over the risk of ‘incitement of violence’. Twitter said that after assessing the tweets in the context of a violent storming of the Capitol on Wednesday, it determined that Trump’s tweets violated the firm’s ‘Glorification of Violence’ policy and constituted immediate removal from the platform. 

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(With Agency Inputs)