Parler Is Back! (Sort Of)

After the coordinated takedown of Parler, the only viable Twitter alternative, by Big Tech, the site has resurfaced but is not yet functional. According to Reuters, Parler was able to partially restore its website with the help of Russians (gasp). It’s a weird day when Russians are more pro-free-speech than Americans.

On Monday, Parler’s website was reachable again, though only with a message from its chief executive saying he was working to restore functionality.

The internet protocol address it used is owned by DDos-Guard, which is controlled by two Russian men and provides services including protection from distributed denial of service attacks, infrastructure expert Ronald Guilmette told Reuters.

The only thing available on the site at the moment is this statement from Parler.

Now seems like the right time to remind you all — both lovers and haters — why we started this platform. We believe privacy is paramount and free speech essential, especially on social media. Our aim has always been to provide a nonpartisan public square where individuals can enjoy and exercise their rights to both.

We will resolve any challenge before us and plan to welcome all of you back soon. We will not let civil discourse perish!

The app is still unavailable on Apple and Google and no one can post anything to the platform yet. “I’m confident that by the end of the month, we’ll be back up,” CEO John Matze told Fox News on Sunday night.

Parler is suing Amazon for its role in deleting the website from the public domain. PJM’s Tyler O’Neil reported the details.

The lawsuit argued that AWS engaged in a clear double standard by attacking Parler. “By pulling the plug on Parler but leaving Twitter alone despite identical conduct by users on both sites, AWS reveals that its expressed reasons for suspending Parler’s account are but pretext,” it claims.

The lawsuit notes that Amazon claimed to find 98 examples of posts that clearly encourage and incite violence on Parler. “However, the day before, on Friday, one of the top trends on Twitter was ‘Hang Mike Pence,’ with over 14,000 tweets. … And earlier last week, a Los Angeles Times columnist observed that Twitter and other social media platforms are partly culpable for the Capital [sic] Hill riot, by allowing rioters to communicate and rile each other up.”

“Yet these equivalent, if not greater, violations of AWS’s terms of service by Twitter have apparently been ignored by AWS,” the lawsuit notes, bitterly.

Parler brings three claims against Amazon. It accuses AWS of violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act by “contracting or conspiring to restrain trade or commerce.” It accuses AWS of breach of contract “by not providing thirty days’ notice before terminating its account.” Finally, it accuses Amazon of “tortious interference with a contract or business expectancy.” By terminating Parler’s contract, “AWS will intentionally interfere with the contracts Parler has with millions of its present users, as well as with the users it is projected to gain this week.”

While Parler waits for the wheels of justice to turn, they are working overtime to get the site back up and working as normal. “Despite all of this, we haven’t even had one employee quit,” Matze told Fox. “Not one, even with them being harassed and threatened, no one has quit… we’ve got such a strong team, this has just made them believe in us more.”