The alternative social network Parler is open again after a month offline. The company announced in a press release that the site is now accessible to users with existing accounts and will accept new sign-ups from next week. A new interim CEO has also been announced: Mark Meckler, who previously founded the right-wing group Tea Party Patriots. The relocation comes after Apple, Google and Amazon suspended service following January’s attack on the US Capitol, citing violent threats on the platform.
Old Parler user accounts have been restored, but old parleys – the term of the site for posts – do not appear to have been transferred. Some high-profile users, such as Fox News host Sean Hannity, have already started posting on the new website. The timelines for other major accounts, such as co-host Tucker Carlson or Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), remains vacant. Many posts were previously archived by an outside researcher who scratched them before removing them.
Parler describes himself as politically unrelated, but the loosely moderated site has become popular with conservative users who are either banned from larger sites or do not agree with the fact-checking and moderation policies of platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. After the election, it became a centerpiece for the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” campaign, which escalated into a deadly attempt to overthrow the January 6 U.S. election. The site went offline on January 10, when its old host Amazon Web Services suspended its account.
The platform has now started again with a press release ‘robust, sustainable, independent technology’. Parler handed over his domain registration in January to Epik, a registrar known for providing a haven to “far-right” sites.
Parler, however, remains in an uncertain position. Apple and Google have not restored its app in their stores, and they are still fighting an ongoing lawsuit against Amazon, where a judge appeared unsympathetic with his allegations. His former CEO, John Matze, said he was fired in early February, and the company is now conducting a thorough investigation into a permanent CEO who will replace Meckler. It is also being scrutinized in Congress – where Home Affairs Committee chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) requested documents on Parler’s funding and operations.