Trump social media ban: Parler withdrawn from App Store and faces removal from internet for violating rules
The social media app was also taken off the Android Play Store on Saturday.
Sunday 10 January 2021 09:23, UK
Parler has been removed from Apple's App Store and Android's Play Store after failing to implement proper moderation following the riots seen at the US Capitol.
The social media site now faces being kicked off Amazon Web Services (AWS), which would take the website offline until it finds a new host.
President Donald Trump was banned from Twitter on Friday, and there was speculation he could move over to Parler where his sons Eric and Don Jr are already active.
The president has been barred from numerous social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram.
The bans come in the wake of the siege at the home of Congress in Washington DC on Wednesday, with Parler being the favoured platform for many of Mr Trump's supporters.
It has seen posts like "How do we take back our country? About 20 or so coordinated hits" and the promotion of a "Million Militia March" since the Wednesday unrest.
Parler claims to be "an unbiased social media focused on real user experiences and engagement" with "free expression without violence and no censorship".
However, Apple decided to suspend the Parler app from the App Store in the early hours of Sunday morning after it failed to receive a satisfactory moderation plan.
The iPhone creators pointed out how people used the platform to "plan and facilitate yet further illegal and dangerous activities".
"We have suspended Parler from the App Store until they resolve these issues," Apple said in a statement.
When removing the application from Android's Play Store on Saturday, Google said: "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."
Amazon has decreed that Parler will be removed from AWS at 11.59pm PST on Sunday (7.59am GMT on Monday) due to the site being a "very real risk to public safety".
This move would see the website go down and be inaccessible until it found a new home.
Parler Chief Executive John Matze, who created the app in 2018, has alleged that the companies are coordinating their actions.
He said: "There is the possibility Parler 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... You can expect the war on competition and free speech to continue, but don't count us out."