Apple to re-introduce Parler, the app at Center of Online Speech Debate

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by mr. Buck, and it was by mr. Lee’s office confirmed. Apple declined to comment.

In the letter, Apple stood by its initial decision to remove Parler from the app store, citing posts that denigrated races and religions, promoted Nazi ideology and called for violence. Apple has been in “significant talks” with Parler since January, and the app maker has suggested updates to its platform and content moderation policies, Apple said.

“The App Review Team has notified Parler from April 14, 2021 that the proposed updated app will be approved for repair in the App Store,” the letter reads. The letter comes in response to a query that Messrs. Lee and Buck sent to Apple last month.

Mr. Buck said on Twitter that the decision was a “big win for free speech.”

Launched in 2018, Parler LLC ended up in the midst of a debate over internet companies and freedom of speech as it became popular among supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

Parler is similar to Twitter Inc. se platform. Its rise coincides with more aggressive attempts by Twitter to label or remove content that Twitter considers offensive or misleading. According to February, Parler said according to his interim CEO Mark Meckler that he has more than 20 million users.

Parler expressed himself as a Twitter competitor who would take a practical approach to moderating content. The policy made the platform an attractive online meeting place for the president’s supporters, who were resentful of Twitter’s approach to moderating the content because Trump disputed the outcome of the 2020 election and Twitter finally suspended his account.

Mr. Trump does not have a Parler account, but conservative commentators such as Sean Hannity and Mark Levin are active on the platform. Legislators who Mr. Trump has garnered strong support, including rep. Devin Nunes of California and rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, also has active accounts, as well as Mr. Buck.

After the mob’s attack on the Capitol building on January 6, Apple and other large technology companies quickly moved to sever ties with Parler, giving some people involved in the attack a forum to discuss plans. Amazon.com Inc.

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suspended Parler from his web hosting services. Alphabet Inc.,

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like Apple, Parler also removed from its app store.

In response to criticism that it serves as a scene for the Capitol attack, Parler said he referred dozens of examples of violent content to the FBI in the weeks before the mob met in Washington, DC.

Apple had earlier denied an earlier attempt by Parler to reinstate.

Parler sued Amazon for terminating the web hosting services, saying it was done for competitive reasons. Parler got limited features in February after securing Internet services offered by SkySilk Inc., which operates from a data center in Los Angeles. Users can access the service via a web browser or if they have previously installed the app on their mobile devices.

It remains outside the Google Play Store, and a Parler spokesman said earlier that he is not actively trying to repair the app in the store as it is available in other ways. Parler provides instructions on its website for users to install the app on Android devices without going through the official app store.

Write to Matt Grossman by [email protected]