Bans on Parler and Trump show Big Tech’s power over web conversation

The Parler restrictions underscore how technology companies have increasingly been held accountable for the potential consequences of what happens on their services, where they have greater visibility than governments do – and the ability to take quicker action. — Bloomberg

As Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc banished users and groups supporting the violent mobs at the US Capitol last week – including President Donald Trump himself – downloads surged for a less restrictive social media app called Parler. But in an effort to prevent further riot organising, Google Inc and Apple Inc booted Parler from their app stores, and Amazon.com Inc shut off its web services.

“We will not cave to pressure from anti-competitive actors!” John Matze, Parler Inc’s chief executive officer, said on his site Friday. “We WON’T cave to politically motivated companies and those authoritarians who hate free speech!”