On Saturday afternoon we reported Apple had threatened to pull the Parler app from the App Store. Well, now they have followed through and have officially pulled the App.
As AppleInsider reports:
The takedown has removed the app from view in the App Store, with it no longer appearing in searches, following Apple’s demand for change. New downloads of the app are no longer possible until the app is reinstated, though existing installations will still be able to access the service as normal.
Google pulled the app from the Google Play Store within hours of Apple’s announcement, making the app unavailable to download to Android devices via that digital storefront.
On Friday, Apple contacted the developers behind Parler about complaints it received regarding content and its use, including how it was allegedly employed to “plan, coordinate, and facilitate the illegal activities in Washington D.C.,” an email from the iPhone producer said. As well as enabling users to storm the U.S. Capitol, which led to the “loss of life, numerous injuries, and the destruction of property,” Apple believed the app was continuing to be used to plan “yet further illegal and dangerous activities.”
Apple gave Parler 24 hours to make changes to the app to more effectively moderate content posted by users, or face ejection from the App Store until the changes are actually implemented.
Shortly before 8 P.M. Eastern Time, almost an hour after the deadline, the app was removed from the App Store.
In a statement, Apple said “We have always supported diverse points of view being represented on the App Store, but there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity. Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety. We have suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues.”
Parler bills itself as being a “non-biased, free speech social media focused on protecting user’s rights,” and has become the online home for conservatives and radicals that have been kicked off other mainstream social networks like Facebook and Twitter. In recent months, the app had gained a reputation for being a safe-haven for conspiracy theorists and far-right extremists, including people who called for protests and violence after the latest U.S. presidential election.
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