6Foot2 Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 Link: Amazon Is Booting Parler Off Of Its Web Hosting Service [buzzfeed.com] Amazon notified Parler that it would be cutting off the social network favored by conservatives and extremists from its cloud hosting service Amazon Web Services, according to an email obtained by BuzzFeed News. The suspension, which will go into effect on Sunday just before midnight, means that Parler will be unable to operate and will go offline unless it can find another hosting service. People on Parler used the social network to stoke fear, spread hate, and coordinate the insurrection at the Capitol building on Wednesday. The app has recently been overrun with death threats, celebrations of violence, and posts encouraging “Patriots” to march on Washington, DC with weapons on January 19, the day before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. In an email obtained by BuzzFeed News, an AWS Trust and Safety team told Parler Chief Policy Officer Amy Peikoff that the calls for violence propagating across the social network violated its terms of service. Amazon said it was unconvinced that the service’s plan to use volunteers to moderate calls for violence and hate speech would be effective. “Recently, we’ve seen a steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms," the email reads. "It’s clear that Parler does not have an effective process to comply with the AWS terms of service.” An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment on the suspension. In a post on Sunday evening following publication of this story, Parler CEO John Matze, who did not return a request for comment from BuzzFeed News, said it is possible the social network will be unavailable on the internet for up to a week as we rebuild from scratch." "This was a coordinated attack by the tech giants to kill competition in the market place," he wrote on Parler. "We were too successful too fast." On Parler, reaction to the impending ban was swift and outraged with some discussing violence against Amazon. "It would be a pity if someone with explosives training were to pay a visit to some AWS data centers," one person wrote...
elsiegee40 Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 (edited) Google took it off the play store yesterday and Apple followed suit. I guess AWS is making absolutely sure a way round this is more difficult Edited January 10, 2021 by elsiegee40
free780 Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 The views are still present but will just be pushed underground or spill out on the streets. Hearts willingly changing is the harder long term solution. Or is there sadly an invertable civil war brewing?
Theblacksheep Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 The views are still present but will just be pushed underground or spill out on the streets. Hearts willingly changing is the harder long term solution. Or is there sadly an invertable civil war brewing? They have been trying to start ones for years and commenting on this for years. Only one side is looking for war and it's over one party not being able to hold onto power despite losing and companies being forced to host white supremacist content. Alot of failed coups, have successful coups later on. America is in a dangerous place.
3s-gtech Posted January 10, 2021 Posted January 10, 2021 I’ve been thinking about this, and I think that pushing this content to the fringes, and making it harder to access (requiring effort to find and access) is generally a good thing. Yes, it will be harder to monitor and manage, but the casual right who are not initially as extreme are less likely to drift into the fringes if it is more difficult to do so. As it has been, far-right content has been mainstream - from Trump himself at times - and easily accessible. It has been too easy to draw the disenchanted in to conspiracy theories, QAnon and hate.
chazzy2501 Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 I'm told that Parler operated on broadcast rules, they don't allow threats of violence. They are not conservative in nature but free speech. Twitter was trending for the hanging of the VP of America and that didn't get admonished. There is an unequal application of the rules, this should worry people when companies decide what you are allowed to view. I don't know about the BuzzFeed picture but they are politically bias and the post in question appeared to have no engagement. Anyone can post horrible threats online. The standard of moderation required by amazon, etc. would require massive resources that conveniently would stop any new social network from becoming competition.
Theblacksheep Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 (edited) They are not conservative in nature but free speech. In the same way the civil war was about 'states rights'. Hang pence was trending on twitter because people are quoting the video in which trump supporters are chanting it. On parler, they are just saying it. Edited January 11, 2021 by Theblacksheep
TechMonkey Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 I'm told that Parler operated on broadcast rules, they don't allow threats of violence. They are not conservative in nature but free speech. Twitter was trending for the hanging of the VP of America and that didn't get admonished. There is an unequal application of the rules, this should worry people when companies decide what you are allowed to view. I don't know about the BuzzFeed picture but they are politically bias and the post in question appeared to have no engagement. Anyone can post horrible threats online. The standard of moderation required by amazon, etc. would require massive resources that conveniently would stop any new social network from becoming competition. Did you see the posts that Amazon cited? They were pure violence, calling for murder just because they didn't agree with someone. Amazon had warned them multiple times and submitted many posts that needed dealing with and Parler made the least effort they thought they could get away with. As ever free speech does not allow someone to yell FIRE in a crowded room. There is a big difference between posting a picture to show it happened and calling for something to happen. One is documentation, the other is incitement. Funnily enough, the people that seemed to flock to Parler were the exact ones that tried to claim a while back that online services were publishers so had to moderate their content. Maybe a new social media service should work on the moderation problem, that could be there USP.
chazzy2501 Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 When a political adversary cherry picks content and uses content you've already admonished that as an justification to remove you. Then you celebrate because those political advisories are gone. Remember "They came first" just because you align today doesn't mean you'll align tomorrow.
Theblacksheep Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 If a restaurant has a policy of 'no shirt, no shoes, no entry' they do not have to serve you. They are not discriminating against you over something you have no control over. You can still choose to not wear shoes, just not in their restaurant. The first amendment rights in the US is regarding government mandates, private companies can do what they want, that is freedom. If Trumpism force a company to host extremism and racist behaviour regardless, then Trumpism is the ones breaking free speech and first amendment rights.
elsiegee40 Posted January 11, 2021 Posted January 11, 2021 (edited) As this thread is inevitably drifting into the politics of the decision it will be locked. And yes I can see the irony in the decision Edited January 11, 2021 by elsiegee40
Recommended Posts