Parler’s CEO and founder says he was fired from top social media app Rebekah Mercer from the social media app.
The app, which was popular with Donald Trump supporters, was taken offline and effectively shut down by tech giants after the January 6 violence on Capitol.
John Matze said in a memo to his employees that he had been removed by the board of directors and insisted that he “did not participate in this decision”, reports the Wall Street Journal. He said the board is currently controlled by Ms Mercer, the 47-year-old daughter of hedge fund manager Robert Mercer and a prolific donor to the IDP.
“Over the past few months, I have been constantly resisting with my product vision, my strong belief in freedom of speech and my view of how the Parler website should be run,” Matze said.
“For example, I advocated for more product stability and what I believe is a more effective approach to content moderation.”
Parler had an estimated 15 million users and became popular with conservatives in the months following Trump’s election defeat to Joe Biden.
Many users were attracted to the app after other social media platforms took action against Trump’s false allegations that the election was stolen from him.
Parler did not allow threats or criminal activity, but was only moderated by part-time ‘jurors’.
It saw a huge increase in deliveries after Donald Trump’s ban on social media through Facebook and Twitter, but was shut down when Amazon web services kicked it off their servers after the attack on Capitol.
Mr. Matze told his former colleagues that it would take him a few weeks before he decided what he was going to do.
“After that, I will look for new opportunities where my technical insight, vision and the causes I am passionate about are required and respected,” he wrote.
“I want to thank all the people from Parler who supported me and the platform.
‘It was the real American dream: an idea from a living room to a business of considerable value. I’m not saying goodbye, just as long for now. ‘
Ms Mercer is the daughter of hedge fund tycoon Robert Mercer, who funded a series of conservative causes and spent $ 25 million to help Donald Trump win the 2016 election.