Trump supporters invaded the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Google and Apple alleged that Parler lacked the necessary policies to control content that would inspire violence at the time. The software was removed from the Play Store and the App Store for this reason. However, Parler is back on the Play Store now following significant revisions to the moderation guidelines.
Google has finally permitted Parler to re-enter the Play Store after over a year away. After a brawl in the US Capitol, the app was removed from the Play Store. A Google representative confirmed the information to The New York Times, stating that they have revised their content filtering guidelines to meet Google’s requirements. The software is currently available for download from Google Play Store.
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“While Parler believes the best way to address the problems of hate and divisiveness in today’s culture is to allow more speech, not less, we are still happy to do business with those who think differently, on the terms on which we do agree,” Cravens said. Parler was founded in 2018 as a social network for free speech advocates. It was also intended to challenge Twitter and Facebook’s monopoly. However, Parler now understands the consequences of not following the policies that the tech giants impose on other companies.
Parler’s chief marketing officer, Christina Cravens, told The Times that their app always prohibited violence . However, to get permission to return to Play Store, Parler hid not-safe-for-work content and removed hate speech based on race, sex, sexuality, and other factors.
After the attack on the US Capitol, Twitter suspended Trump’s account and provoked many concerns about the meaning of free speech on social platforms. Elon Musk claimed one of his incentives to buy out Twitter was to protect free speech on the platform.