Amazon has shut down the social media app Parler, which is popular with supporters of President Trump, in the aftermath of riots in the US Congress last week.
According to Arabnet, Amazon's cloud computing unit, known as AWS, informed Parler on Saturday that it will not provide cloud services to the company starting Sunday at 11:00 : 59 PM, according to an email obtained by CNBC.
AWS offers cloud services to Parler that hosts its website, which means that if Parler cannot contract with a cloud hosting company by Sunday night the site will be shut down For its users.
The message states that: AWS provides technology and services to clients across the political spectrum, and we continue to respect Parler's right to determine on its own what content it will allow on its site. However, we cannot provide services to a customer who is unable to effectively identify and remove content that promotes or incites violence against others. Because Parler cannot comply with our Terms of Service and pose a very real risk to public safety, we plan to suspend Parler's account starting Sunday, Jan 10, 11:59 PM PDT.
Google and Apple had removed the app from their app store on Friday and Saturday, but users could log in if they had the app already installed or through Parler Website. Amazon's move to stop Parler hosting makes it completely offline unless the company can find a new host first.
Parler, launched in 2018, has emerged as a popular platform for President Trump's allies in the past year by presenting itself as an alternative to free speech to mainstream social media services such as Twitter and Facebook.
