Apple Inc on Saturday made good on its threat to suspend right-wing social networking service Parler from its App Store, while Amazon.com Inc will prevent the Twitter-clone from accessing its Amazon Web Services (AWS) unit at the end of Sunday.
"We have suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues," said Apple in a statement.
Apple expelled Parler for not taking adequate measures to prevent the spread of posts inciting violence. On Friday, Apple gave Parler an ultimatum to implement a full moderation plan within the next 24 hours or be expelled from the App store.
Apple told Parler about complaints Parler was used to plan and coordinate the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump during the insurrection and sedition at Washington D.C. on January 6.
Five people died in this violent coup d'état attempt while the Capitol Building was vandalized and ransacked by the Trump terrorists.
Apple said if it did not receive an update from the company after 24 hours, the app would be removed from the App store.
The Parler Free Speech Social Network is a favorite among Trump supporters and is seen as a haven for people expelled from Twitter. An alternative to Twitter, Parler claims to offer free expression without violence and no censorship.
On the other hand, Amazon is poised to expel Parler for violating AWS's terms of service by failing to effectively deal with a steady increase in violent content. It will suspend Parler's account effective Sunday at 11:59 p.m. PST.
The twin announcements followed Google Inc, expelling Parler from Google Play Store on Friday.
"We're aware of continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the U.S.," said Google.
"We recognize that there can be a reasonable debate about content policies and that it can be difficult for apps to immediately remove all violative content, but for us to distribute an app through Google Play, we do require that apps implement robust moderation for egregious content."
"In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app's listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues."
Parler CEO John Matze blasted Apple, saying the iPhone maker banned the service until it gives up free speech and institutes "broad and invasive policies like Twitter and Facebook."
"They claim it is due to violence on the platform. The community disagrees as we hit number 1 on their store today," said Matze in a post on Parler.
"More details about our next plans coming soon as we have many options."
