Parler goes offline as Amazon pulls the plug on the conservative social network

Parler has dropped offline after Amazon kicked the conservative-friendly site off its hosting service in the early hours of Monday morning, following Apple and Google’s move to block the fledgling social network over the weekend.

On Monday morning, at 3am EST, Parler, the social networking site popular among American conservatives, was taken offline after Amazon pulled support, claiming the site was allowing “threats of violence” in the wake of a deadly riot at the US Capitol.

A Google search shows "This site can’t be reached"

Parler had been reliant on the Amazon Web Services (AWS), a cloud computing services platform, owned and run by the tech giant.

“Recently, we’ve seen a steady increase in this violent content on your website, all of which violates our terms,” AWS said, in a letter to Parler obtained by NBC News.

On Saturday, Apple followed in Google’s footsteps, removing Parler from its App Store, having given the company 24 hours to introduce adequate measures to “prevent the spread of posts inciting violence.”

Parler’s CEO, John Matze, has slammed the move.

“This was a coordinated attack by the tech giants to kill competition in the market place. We were too successful too fast. You can expect the war on competition and free speech to continue, but don’t count us out,” Matze said on Saturday. 

Google suspended Parler from its Google Play Store on Friday, shortly after Twitter banned President Donald Trump indefinitely.

There had been rumors that the incumbent president was considering moving to Parler, which reportedly had 12 million users when it was forced offline.

Matze wrote on Monday, “we will likely be down longer than expected,” having previously noted the site would be down for a week.

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