Judge denies Parler's request to force Amazon to reinstate website services



The social media platform Parler lost a bid for a court order to force Amazon to reinstate their website services.

Amazon banned Parler from their web host servers on Jan. 9 over what they claimed was a "steady increase" in "violent content" that was against their terms of service. Parler's CEO John Matze accused the tech industry of colluding in order to squeeze competition out of the marketplace, and filed a lawsuit against Amazon days later.

Attorneys for Parler requested a preliminary injunction from the court and argued in part that Amazon was violating laws against monopoly in favor of Twitter, Parler's competitor.

U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein said in her decision on Thursday that Parler had not proven that it was likely to succeed against Amazon, and was not entitled to an injunction that would return the website services to the platform.

"The likelihood of Parler prevailing on its claims is not a close call. Parler's allegations at this time are both inaccurate and unsupported, and are disputed by evidence submitted by [Amazon]," said Rothstein.

Rothstein found the connection between Parler's suspension and Twitter tenuous since Amazon doesn't have the same relationship with Twitter as it does with Parler.

"Parler has failed to do more than raise the specter of preferential treatment of Twitter by [Amazon]," said Rothstein. "Parler and Twitter are not similarly situated, because [Amazon] does not provide online hosting services to Twitter."

Rothstein also rejected the argument from Parler that reinstating their social media platform was in the public interest.

"The Court explicitly rejects any suggestion that the balance of equities or the public interest favors obligating [Amazon] to host the kind of abusive, violent content at issue in this case, particularly in light of the recent riots at the U.S. Capitol," said Rothstein.

"That event was a tragic reminder that inflammatory rhetoric can — more swiftly and easily than many of us would have hoped — turn a lawful protest into a violent insurrection," she added. "The Court rejects any suggestion that the public interest favors requiring [Amazon] to host the incendiary speech that the record shows some of Parler's users have engaged in."

Rothstein was nominated to the court by former President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

The ruling leaves the future of the social media platform in question, though Matze has promised that the service will return.

Here's more about the future of Parler:

House Oversight Committee calls on FBI to investigate Parlerwww.youtube.com

Parler reappears online with message from CEO: 'We will not let civil discourse perish!'



Parler — the social media platform popular with conservatives as a "free speech" alternative to Twitter — reappeared online Sunday after Amazon Web Services booted it offline a week ago, the Hill reported.

What are the details?

There's only a single screen with text and nowhere to navigate, but it's more than the completely blank page users saw for the last several days.

"Hello world, is this thing on?" Parler CEO John Matze asks in a screenshot of what appears to be Parler post.

Then under the heading "Technical Difficulties," a message reads as follows:

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!

What's the background?

Following U.S. Capitol rioting Jan. 6, social media sites began banning conservatives and conservative groups, including President Donald Trump. Parler was no exception — and Amazon last weekend told Parler it would suspend it from Amazon Web Services' hosting servers.

"Recently, we've seen a steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms. It's clear that Parler does not have an effective process to comply with the AWS terms of service," Amazon said in an email to Parler, BuzzFeed News reported.

"[W]e cannot provide services to a customer that is unable to effectively identify and remove content that encourages or incites violence against others," the email added. "Because Parler cannot comply with our terms of service and poses a very real risk to public safety, we plan to suspend Parler's account effective Sunday, January 10th, at 11:59PM PST."

Then Amazon pulled the trigger. As did Google and Apple. And Parler went dark.

A day after Amazon took down the platform, Parler announced it is suing Amazon for antitrust violations, breach of contract, and unlawful business interference.

On Tuesday Parler registered its domain and server with Epik, an Internet solutions company described by Vice as the "the internet savior of the far-right" since it also hosts Gab, another social media alternative that Big Tech loves to hate.

Matze also said last week he'd received death threats after Parler was taken down.

Amazon cuts funding for Republicans who voted against certifying the election



Amazon announced Monday that its political action committee would immediately suspend contributions to U.S. lawmakers who voted against certifying President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory last week.

In doing so, the corporate giant joined several other companies, including Marriott International, Morgan Stanley, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Dow, Airbnb, and AT&T in deciding to pull support for certain Republicans.

"The Amazon PAC gives to congressional candidates on a bipartisan basis based upon the interest of our customers and our employees," an Amazon spokeswoman said, according to GeekWire. "Given the unacceptable attempt to undermine a legitimate democratic process, the Amazon PAC has suspended contributions to any Member of Congress who voted to override the results of the US Presidential election. We intend to discuss our concerns directly with those Members we have previously supported and will evaluate their responses as we consider future PAC contributions."

Separately, several other companies such as Google, Facebook, and JP Morgan have announced that they will temporarily pause all political donations, to both Republicans and Democrats.

The news comes in response to a shocking incident last week in which hundreds of riotous supporters of President Donald Trump broke off from a larger group gathered in Washington, D.C., to protest the election results, breaching security perimeters and storming the U.S. Capitol. The siege resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including one Capitol Police officer who was struck in the head while confronting rioters.

On the same day as the siege, both the House and Senate were in session as lawmakers gathered to count Electoral College votes cast. During the joint session, 147 Republican lawmakers — 139 representatives and eight senators — voted against certification of the results.

In the wake of the rioting, the Republican lawmakers who objected to the Electoral College results have been partially blamed for sowing the violence that occurred.

Among the members of Congress who voted against certification of results in certain battleground states were Republican Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.), Ted Cruz (Texas), and Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) and Republican Reps. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), and Steve Scalise (La.).

"I want to speak to the Republicans who are considering voting against these objections," Cruz said last Wednesday on the Senate floor during debate over Arizona's Electoral College results. "I urge you to pause and think, what does it say to the nearly half the country that believes this election was rigged if we vote not even to consider the claims of illegality and fraud in this election?"