Apple has issued Parler a similar warning and given it 24
hours to fix things.
Many social media companies are working to crack down on
hate speech after the riot Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol that left five people
dead, including a Capitol Police officer.
Twitter banned President Donald Trump's account Friday,
citing "the risk of further incitement of violence" following the
deadly insurrection at the Capitol on Wednesday. He encouraged supporters
during a speech to march to the building as Congress met to certify
President-elect Joe Biden's win. But Twitter said that two tweets by Trump
Friday, and how his supporters were reacting to them, were the final straw.
Facebook has suspended Trump at least until his term ends Jan. 20.
Apple warned to ban Parler from its store if it doesn't come
up with a moderation plan over complaints that it was used to coordinate the
storming of the Capitol. It remained available on the App Store Friday evening.
The social platform used heavily by extremist conservatives
also appeared to be down Friday. Newly elected U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene
of Georgia tweeted a screenshot saying Parler isn’t working. The Republican is
aligned with the QAnon conspiracy group backing Trump and has expressed racist
views online before.
Now that Trump has been kicked off favorite pulpit Twitter,
he may resort to Parler. The 2-year-old small alternative to Twitter has become
increasingly popular among the president’s most ardent supporters. Many have
used it to spread falsehoods and hateful comments.
Fox News' Sean Hannity said Thursday during a conversation
with radio host Dan Bongino, an investor in Parler, that Trump has an account,
which Bongino didn't deny.
Posts were seen on Parler mentioning the crowds in
Washington, D.C., on Wednesday and saying people could return with weapons
before Inauguration Day and outnumber police.
If mainstream platforms drive discussion about violence and
social protest to more marginal sites, University of Buffalo professor Monica
Stephens said, "it is still going to happen; it is just going to happen
where it isn’t as read."
Stephens said it made sense for Facebook and Twitter to try
lighter forms of curbing misinformation in the months leading up to the
election. “They’re getting flak from both sides of the political aisle,” she
said.
On Friday, Twitter also permanently banned two Trump
loyalists — former national security adviser Michael Flynn and attorney Sidney
Powell — as part of a broader purge of accounts promoting the QAnon conspiracy
theory.
“Given the renewed potential for violence surrounding this
type of behavior in the coming days, we will permanently suspend accounts that
are solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content,” Twitter said in an emailed
statement.
Dozens of QAnon social media accounts were hyping up Trump's
Jan. 6 rally in the heart of Washington, expressing hope that it could lead to
the overturn of the election results.