At the time of Parler’s de-platforming by Amazon Web Hosting services in January, I mentioned the company which participated in Amazon’s blacklisting but seemingly did so most reluctantly was Apple. After Amazon announced they would pull the plug on the free-speech social media platform within 48 hours of providing notice to Parler; Apple announced they were pulling Parler from their app store.
Parler had become the most downloaded app in Apple’s app store two days leading up to the removal. Apple did allow those who’d already downloaded it on their devices to have access to it once downloaded while noting their move was a suspension over moderation practices, not removal from their platform. Millions of iPhone users have been able to access Parler on their iPhones since the return of the platform in February as a result. If you’re an iPhone user who would like to use Parler, you’ll be able to download the app from Apple’s app store once again.
Apple has approved Parler’s current moderation policy and will make Parler available in their app store as soon as Parler releases an updated version of the app. This stands in contrast with Google which still hasn’t considered allowing Parler back in its Google Play store.
All of this is in advance of a Congressional hearing Wednesday regarding the practices of big technology companies. In the case of Parler, Apple has shown that not all technology companies are equal in their treatment of free speech and specifically the dissemination of it via Parler. They’ve consistently been the most likely to allow for it and that’s certainly true today.