Parler Is Back Online After A Month Of Downtime

After being offline for a month, the alternative social network Parler has returned. In a press release, the business stated that the website is now open to users who already have accounts and will start taking new ones the following week. Mark Meckler, who previously cofounded the right-wing organization Tea Party Patriots, has been named as the organization’s new interim CEO. After the attack on the US Capitol in January, Apple, Google, and Amazon suspended service, alleging violent threats on the platform. This relaunch comes after those suspensions.

Old Parler user accounts have been recovered, but it doesn’t seem that any old posts, or “parleys,” have been brought over. Sean Hannity, a Fox News personality, is one prominent user who has already started blogging on the new website. Other prominent accounts, such as those of fellow broadcaster Tucker Carlson and Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), have empty timeframes. Prior to its removal, a third-party researcher scraped and preserved a number of posts.

The case filed by Parler against Amazon is still pending.

Although Parler claims to be politically apolitical, the site quickly gained popularity among conservative users who were either blocked from using other, more established websites or who disapproved of the fact-checking and moderating practices of Twitter and Facebook. It was the focal point of the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” movement after the election, which culminated in a tragic effort to rig the US election on January 6. On January 10, the website’s previous host, Amazon Web Services, suspended its account, causing the site to go offline.

According to a press statement, the platform has now reopened with “strong, sustainable, independent technology.” In January, Parler changed its domain registrar from GoDaddy to Epik, a company notorious for giving “deplatformed” far-right websites a safe haven.

Parler’s situation is questionable, though. Its app hasn’t been added back to Apple or Google’s stores, and it is currently battling Amazon in court, where the judge didn’t seem to share its sympathy for its complaints. According to the organization’s former CEO John Matze, who was sacked in early February, the business is currently “doing a thorough search for a permanent CEO” to take Meckler’s place. Additionally, it is being investigated in Congress, where Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), chair of the House Oversight Committee, has asked for papers pertaining to Parler’s operations and funding.