Parler temporarily shuts down after being sold to a new owner

Parler, a self-described “unbiased” different to mainstream social media networks, is being bought by an organization that can quickly shut down the platform forward of a deliberate relaunch. A press release posted to Parler’s web site on Friday reveals that its dad or mum firm Parlement Applied sciences has agreed to promote the platform to digital media firm Starboard (beforehand referred to as Olympic Media) for an undisclosed sum, with the deal anticipated to be finalized by “the tip of Q2, 2023.” 

Starboard disclosed that the platform can be pulled to bear a “strategic evaluation,” and it instructed Parlement had made the precise transfer in pivoting to cloud companies final yr. “No affordable individual believes {that a} Twitter clone only for conservatives is a viable enterprise any extra,” the assertion says. But it surely says its newly acquired platform may serve “marginalized and even outright censored communities” and probably give attention to enchantment “past home politics” whereas benefiting from the consumer base Parler accrued.

Neither firm has explicitly acknowledged that the social media community would instantly stop its present operations; nevertheless, the web site is at the moment inaccessible because of the acquisition assertion issued by Starboard. The iOS app for Parler can be throwing up 404 errors if you try to join an account, and the assertion notes that “the Parler app as it’s at the moment constituted can be pulled down from operation.” Starboard has not disclosed when it plans to relaunch the service.

Favored by far-right conservatives for its guarantees to advertise “free speech,” Parler has confronted a number of controversies because it was based in 2018. The service was allegedly amongst these used to plan the January sixth rebellion and was pulled (and later restored) by a number of companies similar to Google Play, Amazon Internet Companies, and the Apple App Retailer over issues concerning the largely unmoderated violent content material being posted to the platform. Parler had tried (and failed) to sue Amazon for shutting down its companies, arguing that doing so can be like “pulling the plug on a hospital affected person on life help.”

Parlement Applied sciences has made earlier makes an attempt to promote Parler to stop its fame from affecting additional enterprise pursuits. Kanye West, now legally referred to as Ye, notably entered an settlement to buy the platform in October final yr. The corporate introduced it had “mutually agreed” to terminate the deal on December 1st, the identical day that West praised Hitler and Nazis on a present hosted by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, showing alongside white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Parler has since laid off round 75 % of its staff in January earlier this yr, together with a majority of the corporate’s executives.