Very Social Network

Parler Set to Relaunch Ahead of 2024 Election Under New Ownership

NBC NEWS - Parler, the conservative social media app, plans to relaunch early next year with new owners after being removed from Apple's and Google's app stores post-January 6, 2021 insurrection. New CEO Ryan Rhodes expects a full relaunch by Feb, emphasizing inclusivity while keeping harmful content off the platform. Parler, previously challenging mainstream platforms, faced difficulties and bans; however, the revamped version aims for availability on Apple and Google app stores, adopting its servers. The new ownership, including former executive Elise Pierotti, seeks to provide a comfortable space with moderation tools for users while keeping speech rules in line with the First Amendment.

by David Ingram & Abigail Brooks
See full article at NBC News

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Parler's New Owner Is in It for the Money, Not the Politics

GIZMODO - Parler, the right-wing social media app, has been sold to media conglomerate Starboard after a tumultuous year, which included temporary banishment from app stores and connections to domestic terrorism. Starboard CEO Ryan Coyne has said that the future of Parler is uncertain and that politics is not his priority, but free speech will still be part of Parler’s mission. Coyne has suggested that one idea for the new Parler is to license the technology for individual communities that want their own white-label social media service.

by Thomas Germain
See full article at Gizmondo

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Parler to Be Acquired by Digital Media Company Starboard, Shut Down Temporarily

TECH CRUNCH - Starboard, a digital media conglomerate that owns conservative-leaning platforms American Wire and BizPac Review, has acquired social network Parler and plans to temporarily shut it down to launch a revamped version of the platform. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Starboard anticipates that the acquisition will be accretive by the end of Q2 of 2023.

by Aisha Malik
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Yale University Study Links Right-wing Parler Activity to Greater Civil Unrest in the U.S.

FAST COMPANY - A recent Yale University study examined the correlation between the use of the social media platform Parler and political unrest in the US between Jan 2020 and Jan 6, 2021. The study found that Parler users did not use the platform to plan protests, but if Parler users in a region discussed unrest, that region was more likely to see conservative protests the following month. The study also found that Parler shifted users' beliefs on appropriate social norms, creating what the authors call "mis-norms" and making offline unrest more likely after HRSM (hard-right social media) activity.

by Clint Rainey
See full article at Fast Company

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Parler Owner Laid Off 75% of Staff and Has Only 20 Employees Left

ARS TECHNICA - Parler's owner reportedly laid off most of its staff and executives. These layoffs continued through at least the end of December, when ~75% of staffers were let go in total, leaving ~20 employees left working at both Parler and the parent company's cloud services venture. The layoffs began about 2 weeks after Parlement Technologies ended a deal to sell Parler to Ye (formerly Kanye West).

by Jon Brodkin
See full article at Ars Technica

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Kanye West Is Buying Parler, the Controversial 'Free Speech Social Network'

MASHABLE - Kanye West, or Ye as he is now known, is buying Parler, a controversial social media network touting itself as a "free speech" alternative to platforms like Twitter. The app has only just been restored to the Google Play Store, after being removed for posts inciting violence during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Ye's acquisition will "further lead the fight to create a truly non-cancelable environment". The deal is expected to close towards the end of this year.

by Meera Navlakha
See full article at Mashable

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Parler Forms a New Parent Company to Offer 'Uncancelable' Cloud Services

TECH CRUNCH - Parler has acquired a cloud company called Dynascale to expand its vision beyond offering an (ostensibly) anything-goes social app to provide infrastructure for businesses that run the risk of getting the boot from mainstream providers. Parler will now operate under a new parent company known as Parlement Technologies, which also announced a fresh round of $16M for the pivot toward infrastructure.

by Taylor Hatmaker
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Parler Is Back on Google Play After a Year-long Ban

MASHABLE - Parler, the infamous conservative social media app, has been added back to the Google Play store and is again available for download after being banned from the Android marketplace for well over a year. The social app is allowed back into play with, apparently, stronger AI-based moderation to abide by Google's developer policies.

by Chase di Benedetto
See full article at Mashable

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Parler Secures Dismissal of 46 Labs' Trademark Complaint

LAW STREET MEDIA - The District of Nevada issued a trademark ruling in favor of defendant social media platform Parler LLC over plaintiff 46 Labs LLC's opposition, finding no likelihood of consumer confusion. The controversy involves the companies' dueling 'P'-shaped logos, which the plaintiff claims look almost identical except for their color difference. The logo 46 Labs has used and registered for Peeredge since 2015 is a stylized blue 'P.' Parler operates a social media platform that launched in August 2018. In connection with the platform, Parler utilizes a red stylized 'P.'

by Christina Tabacco
See full article at Law Street Media

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Parler Announces Social Media 'Special Arrangement' With Melania Trump

THE HILL - Parler announced that it is engaging in a social media "special arrangement" with former first lady Melania Trump to share "exclusive communications" on the social media network. Parler said that Trump would share "exclusive communications on Parler," noting it is already powering her blockchain technology and nonfungible token platform, MelaniaTrump.com.

by Caroline Vakil
See full article at The Hill

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Parler Raises $20M in Funding

TECH CRUNCH - The conservative social media Parler has raised $20M in funding. The app, which claims to have ~16M registered users, describes its mission as one focusing on protecting "against the authoritarian powers of Big Tech, Big Government, and cancel culture." Parler's mobile app has been downloaded ~11.3M times globally since its debut.

by Amanda Silberling
See full article at Tech Crunch

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Parler's Dispute With Amazon Headed Back to King County Superior Court

THE SEATTLE TIMES - A Seattle federal district judge approved Parler's request that its complaint against Amazon Web Services is heard in county court, the latest U-turn in a case that has ping-ponged between courts for months. Judge Barbara Rothstein's order remanding the case to King County Superior Court was sealed to protect information related to Parler's ownership.

by Katherine Anne Long
See full article at The Chronicle

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Parler Reportedly Refused to Ban Trump's Critics

THE VERGE - June 30 - Parler and representatives of Donald Trump were reportedly considering making Trump an active member of the platform after he left office. Still, Parler apparently pushed back on one key part of the proposed arrangement: the platform did not want to ban Trump's detractors.

by Jay Peters
See full article at The Verge

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Parler Is Cracking Down on Hate Speech - but Only on iPhones

WASHINGTON POST - May 18 - When Parler returned to life on Apple's App Store, it was designed to be a less offensive version than what users can see elsewhere. Parler uses a new artificial intelligence moderation system with more stringent standards for the App Store than other platforms. Posts labeled "hate" by Parler's new artificial intelligence moderation system won't be visible on iPhones or iPad. Meanwhile, Parler is in no rush to return to the Google Play store.

by Kevin Randall
See full article at Washington Post

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Parler Risks Charges of Selling out With Apple Return

THE HILL - Apr 29 - Parler is returning to Apple's App Store after making some changes demanded by the company. Still, the platform faces accusations of selling out to Big Tech and risks losing some of its key user bases. Parler said that some posts that will be prohibited in the App Store version of Parler would remain visible on the web-based version of Parler that has relaunched after Amazon's web hosting service pulled it in January.

by Rebecca Klar
See full article at The Hill

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