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Parler with new host: is the right-wing Twitter alternative back?

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The social network Parler, often referred to as a home for far-right users, has made it back online. With a new hoster, they are now apparently planning their return.

The website of Parler.com has been back online for a few hours, albeit currently only in a limited form with a simple placeholder. The only thing you can currently read there is a greeting from CEO John Matze from January 16th, under which you can find references to the "technical problems".

The message promises users that they will "resolve any challenges ahead" and plans to have all users "welcomed back very soon." Last week, Apple and Google removed Parler's apps from their stores, while Amazon disabled hosting. This was in response to the attack on the US Capitol, in which Parler is believed to have played a central role.

Parler.com: controversial network at new registrar

The service's domain had been with Epik for several days, a registrar that's already home to various other far-right sites. It is not yet clear who will be responsible for actually hosting the platform in the future once the placeholder disappears.

The future of Parler's apps is also uncertain. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an interview with Fox News that they would relist the app if Parler implemented stricter content moderation. "We looked at the incitement to violence that was on [Parler]. And we don't consider that free speech and incitement to violence has an intersection," Cook said.

Parler: "Privacy is paramount"

After the site and apps were disabled last week, users' data surfaced on the web soon after. Using the simplest of means, it was possible to programmatically download users' messages. Furthermore, metadata from images or videos were not automatically removed. This information thus revealed, among other things, where the users were at the time of the attack on the Capitol.

That privacy is of paramount importance – a promise Parler used to promote its own platform before – is thus dubious at best. Messages marked as private or even deleted were part of the now available data. The latter were only marked as deleted by the system, but not actually removed from Parler's database.

So users who decide to post on the platform in the future should be aware that the site's developers have had privacy issues several times in the past. It is precisely this protection of data that has been playing an increasingly important role for many Internet users in recent days, as the discussion about WhatsApp and its terms of use in particular shows.

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4 comments
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  • 4
    Michael Gould Jan 20, 2021 Link to comment

    Does the author refer to Twitter as "left-wing", as it surely is?

    Didn't think so.


  • Freyasman 4
    Freyasman Jan 19, 2021 Link to comment

    1.If you have to use you email or phone it's not anonymous, cookies, traces, metadata and you have to have your hide your IP address completely otherwise it's pointless. They could put it right there on the server where you can download it at Parler.com yes they need cloud service put they can buy them, most that go that way become companies producing other products. That fine.


  • 49
    storm Jan 18, 2021 Link to comment

    I would like to see all the social media platform algorithms add bubble defeating features to help ensure people have a more shared baseline of reality. This helps all sides have common ground for discussion. It would complicate ad feed algorithms but improve people's experience to help them move from outrage to community.


    • 1
      Croster Aug 10, 2021 Link to comment

      The idea of a free speech platform will not disappear for sure. At least, it has a good alternative that can't be blocked - Utopia p2p utopia-network.com which was founded in 2018. It can be called the 1st alt-tech platform and it never faced any interruptions in work. Being based on its own blockchain it can't be blocked and all the users remain anonymous and can discuss whatever they want. But it doesn't mean that the platform can be called far-right or extremist.

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