Jordan Bevan
According to a letter sent to Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, and Representative Ken Buck, a Republican from Colorado, Apple will let the social media app Parler back on the App Store, ahead of a congressional antitrust hearing later this week.
Parler was banned by Apple, Google, and Amazon following the Jan. 6 US Capital riot after the accusations that it was used to promote violence before and during the US Capital riot and failed to remove posts that promoted violence.
One week after the App Store removal, Tim Cook said Parler may return to the App Store if it gets content moderation together.
An Apple official said in the letter that Parler has updated its app and improved its content moderation since then. The letter also said that as of April 14, Apple’s App Review department had approved the changes and the updated version of the app will be approved by Apple.
“Apple anticipates that the updated Parler app will become available immediately upon Parler releasing it,” Timothy Powderly, Apple’s senior director for government affairs, wrote in the letter.
On March 31, @SenMikeLee and I sent a letter demanding answers about why Apple removed Parler from the App Store.
— Congressman Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) April 19, 2021
🚨Today, we received a response: Parler will be reinstated on the App Store. Huge win for free speech. pic.twitter.com/FQBDSSSFGk
Apple has “engaged in substantial conversations with Parler in an effort to bring the Parler app into compliance with the Guidelines and reinstate it in the App Store,” the company said in the letter.
“Apple made an independent decision to remove Parler for non-compliance with the guidelines, and it did not coordinate or otherwise consult with Google or Amazon with respect to that decision,” Powderly wrote in the letter.
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