Parler Faces ‘Difficulties’ as Amazon Wins Early Court Fight
- U.S. judge unconvinced of ‘preferential treatment of Twitter’
- Amazon Web Services said Parler not policing violent content
Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
Parler LLC failed to convince a judge to order Amazon.com Inc. to immediately resume hosting the social media platform popular with conservatives, leaving it hobbled while it relies on a Russian-owned service for a bare-bones web presence.
Thursday’s ruling is a significant blow for the site that found its niche as a voice for aggrieved Donald Trump supporters and right-wing dialog. It’s a victory for critics including Amazon who say Parler has proved incapable of policing violent content, particularly in the period leading up to and following the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol.
Parler will still be able to pursue its lawsuit alleging that its cutoff by Amazon Web Services was a politically motivated decision to favor Twitter. But U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein in Seattle made clear that the evidence of an antitrust violation, so far, is thin.