back to article Shelter for internet outcasts Parler slaps Amazon with fresh lawsuit after abandoning first attempt

Parler this week dropped its case against Amazon Web Services – and filed a fresh lawsuit claiming the cloud giant breached its contract by pulling the antisocial network's hosting. The upstart biz, which describes its mobile app as a place for “free expression without violence and no censorship," is a favorite among America's …

  1. beep54

    Amazon can definitely be a bully. But not in this particular case.

    1. Shadow Systems

      According to previous articles...

      It had warned the company multiple times about the inability to police the content on the platform. Amazon said that if it didn't stop then AWS would drop them. It continued, they got dropped, end of.

      Go ahead & sue, I hope you get what you deserve.

  2. Snake Silver badge

    Banging an empty drum

    Parler is hoping to come out with just a bit of sheen, in the eyes of their followers, by suing big, bad Amazon's attempt to "suppress their freedom of speech"..

    Dog poop always runs downhill. Being in the basement, Parler had better set itself up for the flood of its own excrement coming back towards them.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Less like reason

    More like treason....

  4. Khaptain Silver badge

    Reflection for the morning

    "There's a difference between hate speech and speech that you hate."

    Tom Macdonald, Fake Woke, 2021

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Reflection for the morning

      Tom Macdonald, what an odd guy!

      Wrote about the Illuminati cloning rappers, and getting rid of the originals.

      Did a song about the coronavirus where he states "The government’s lyin".

      Also from Fake Woke: "I think Black Lives Matter was the stupidest name, when the system screwing everyone exactly the same"

      Seems Fox News, that bastion of honest and balanced news coverage (/s) love his work, and actively promoted "Fake Woke".

      1. Khaptain Silver badge

        Re: Reflection for the morning

        Rather than taking single lines out of his songs, at least have the honesty to bring the whole song lyrics into view in order that the entire context can be understood.

        "I think Black Lives Matter was the stupidest name, when the system screwing everyone exactly the same"

        The idea behind this line relates to the fact that by employing the word "Black" , it actually created further division amongst the population. The Government used BLM as a political wrench, notice how we don't hear about them anymore now that the elections are finished.

        If you want to better understand Tom Macdonald you should watch some of the reaction videos in order to understand how some of the Black community feel about it. You would be surprised to see how many actually appreciate those lines, they took the time to understand what was being said.

        ************************************************************************

        I think it's crazy how these people screaming "facts" but they fake woke

        Hate their neighbor 'cause he wears a mask or he stays home

        Has a daughter but his favorite artist said he slays hoes

        Picks her up from school, music slaps on the way home

        Censorship's an issue 'cause they choose what they erase

        There's a difference between hate speech and speech that you hate

        I think Black Lives Matter was the stupidest name

        When the system's screwing everyone exactly the same

        I just wanna spend Thanksgiving Day with food and my family

        Without being accused of celebrating native casualties

        We got so divided as black and white and political

        Republicans are bigots, libtards if you're liberal

        There's riots in our streets and it's just getting worse

        Y'all screaming defund the police, y'all are genius for sure

        They're underfunded already, they're way too busy to work

        Order food and call the cops, see what reaches you first

      2. Khaptain Silver badge

        Re: Reflection for the morning

        Just listened to the Cloned Rappers : It appears to be a song criticizing the music industry for producing generic artists, hence the notion of "cloning". Hard to see what wrong with that. ( I don't care much for the music or the song)

        I didn't know the "Coronavirus" song either, so I checked it out. ( Don't care for this one either)

        This song was published around march 2020, so everything he said was pretty much fact at that time. Trump and his team handled things pretty damned poorly, so saying that the Government lied wasn't a falsehood. Unless of course you care to share another version of events.

        Once again let's put things into context...

        If you want to knock someone down at least have some convincing arguments.

        *********************************************************************

        I don't know what to think about this virus

        It started in China, now everybody in America is hidin'

        There's no groceries, 'cause people start to panic and buy it

        The shelter empty, the ones who plenty, already stockpiling

        Y'all making memes, think it's funny?

        Wait a week 'til the riots

        Wait a month 'til the only way to eat is be violent

        It's not the sickness that's scary, it's all the people who're violent

        The government's lyin', they're trying to keep us calm through the sirens

        We know it's for real

        And now all the pharmaceutical giants don't have the cure that they can sell you

        So now everyone's dying

        There's no vaccines and medication made that can fight it

        I guess it's time to pray to God, we can't rely on the science

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Reflection for the morning

        Because FOX got no further than the phrase "fake woke", FOX being the essence of shallow (as you accurately point out with your /s mark). That's FOX's problem. If you allow your speech to be dictated by fear of the shallowest denominator, then you are yourself forced to be shallow, conversing only in accepted slogans, symbols, and dogma, giving up the opportunity for self-reflection and the chance to climb out of sub-optimal minima.

        Black Voting Rights and Black Votes Matter.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    free speech?

    Why did they keep booting lefties off their app then?

    Because they wanted to police their platform.

    Sauce for the goose.....

    1. Sgt_Oddball

      Re: free speech?

      I always find that the most tragic irony.

      That you get people shouting and screaming for freedom of speech, contradict them, correct them or warn them of their behaviour and they've try to shut you up, kick you off or generally do everything to get their way.

      All without the slightest hint of self awareness.

      At any rate, it's always better to have someone else to blame and hate for your own failing. Makes it so much easier to dislike generalised groups than to actually deal with the minority problems at hand (and never look at your own actions as they could never be anything other than perfect. Any hint of owning the issue will result in exclusion from the group and a lack of approval).

    2. HellDeskJockey-ret

      Re: free speech?

      Why did they keep booting lefties your ask? Mostly for violating terms of service.

      I'm not threatened by leftist views. But I do find those can only say (obscenity) Trump, insist on their own facts, and post scat pictures annoying and a waste of time. Show up with a reasoned argument and verifiable facts and I'm interested.

    3. fredesmite2

      Re: free speech?

      Exactly.

      Ive been kicked off most of the #TrumpTrash sites simply because I mocked the porn star fukkcing POS's Euro Trash Tramp wh0re escort 3rd wife.

      I don't understand why those online tough guys have such thin skin... do you?

      ...

  6. sbt
    Facepalm

    "So together, Amazon, AWS, and others attempted to kill Parler."

    Fake news. There's no first amendment issue because AWS is not the government. There's no discrimination issue because AWS's terms of service apply to all customers.

    1. Robert Grant

      Re: "So together, Amazon, AWS, and others attempted to kill Parler."

      > Fake news. There's no first amendment issue because AWS is not the government

      Not seeing anything about the first amendment here.

      1. sbt
        Thumb Up

        Re: "So together, Amazon, AWS, and others attempted to kill Parler."

        True, but a lot of the outrage around Parler's deplatforming was about free-speech issues. It was a pre-emptive comment on my part, just in case the apologists chose to pivot.

    2. Intractable Potsherd

      Re: "So together, Amazon, AWS, and others attempted to kill Parler."

      There is a serious point here, and one that countries and their societies need to address - when does a company become so big and so influential that it needs to be controlled more like state apparatus? It's about time I dusted off an abandoned paper I started writing several years ago on this topic, because it is becoming more important. The hard line between state and company has always been too aggressively maintained, to the detriment of the public.

  7. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Angel

    Couldn't happen to a nice bunch of...

    Help me out please I can't think of an appropriate description!

    1. sbt
      Coat

      Re: Couldn't happen to a nice bunch of...

      Coconuts?

    2. Santa from Exeter

      Re: Couldn't happen to a nice bunch of...

      Sturmabteilung?

    3. Mike Moyle

      Re: Couldn't happen to a nice bunch of...

      More to the point, it WOULDN'T have happened to a nicer bunch.

  8. WanderingHaggis

    Innovative tech start up

    you failed to do proper backups and protect their data. Methinks they have an inflated view of themselves and their abilities.

  9. Gordon Pryra

    Same old rubbish

    Hypocrisy with the American right is quite amazing.

    CPAC setting itself up as the anti-cancel culture symposium whilst having their headline speaker real of a list of people he wants to cancel.

    Companies like Parlor expecting legal protection under the laws of the system that they had a big hand in trying to overthrow for personal gain

    Yawn

  10. red floyd

    Hey, Parler, go read the Supreme Court's decision in Masterpiece Cake Shop.

    Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

  11. Bryan Hall

    Good luck

    I wish them luck. I don't think they will have much success, but the lack of timely notice to allow them to have adequate time to retrieve all the data is certainly something that has merit.

  12. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

    “Many startup companies that have appeared to be a threat to Amazon and AWS have felt their wrath,”

    It's easy to see how Amazon/AWS might view a potent competitor as a threat. In this case Parler was a customer and it's difficult to see how they might be perceived as a threat unless it was Parler's own activities that endangered them. If that's how Parler view it looks as if they're very generously arguing the defence's case.

    1. fredesmite2

      AWS had every right to curb stomp the cockroaches.

      Parler CEO John Matze, family forced into hiding over death threats, security breaches: court filing

      A new court filing on Friday from the Parler legal team revealed its CEO John Matze and his family are now in hiding over death threats and security breaches they have faced.

      Parler, a social media app that has a large user base of Trump supporters, conspiracy theorists and far-right extremists, launched an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon after the tech giant discontinued its web services following last week's riots on Capitol Hill. Amazon filed a response, claiming it has "no legal basis" and alleged its employees have been faced with threats and harassment.

      "Although AWS’s motion to seal focuses only on its own employees, Parler’s employees have been similarly harassed and threatened," the filing read. "Parler’s CEO, John Matze, Jr., reports in his declaration in support of Parler’s TRO motion that many Parler employees are suffering harassment and hostility, fear for their safety and that of their families, and in some cases have fled their home state to escape persecution.

      "Matze himself, as the CEO of the company AWS continues to vilify, has had to leave his home and go into hiding with his family after receiving death threats and invasive personal security breaches," the filing continued.

      ......

      DON'T SHIT IN THE BOWL YOU EAT FROM .

      OTHER HOSTING SITES WON'T ACCEPT THEM EITHER

      During the hearing, Amazon cited examples of violent content that they claim appeared on the platform, including calls to assassinate Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the media.

      AMAZON HITS BACK AT PARLER LAWSUIT, CLAIMS 'UNWILLINGNESS AND INABILITY' TO REMOVE VIOLENT CONTENT

      Amazon's lawyer, Ambika Doran, noted that the abusive posts were just the "tip of the ice berg" and that it is well within the pucblic interest to deny Parler's injuction based upon the events of Jan. 6.

      "The events of January 6 changed the way we think about the world. It took what was merely hypothetical and made it chillingly real," Doran said. "Amazon had every right, after that happened, with the surge of violent content on Parler, to take that into account when it made the decision it did."

      In addition, Doran noted that there is nothing within Amazon's contract with Parler that required the company to send a 30-day suspension notice prior to making the decision.

      When asked by Judge Rothstein if Amazon Web Services would restore Parler if they implemented moderation policies, Doran said there is "no reason" to believe Parler could develop an effective moderation plan within the next 30 days.

      "They had been unwilling to and unable to," Doran said.

      ......

  13. ShortStuff

    Far-right Huh?

    By calling Parler "far right" you are just showing your liberal panties. Parler welcomes all speech from liberal to conservative, a.k.a. free speech. Unlike the far-left outlets like twitter, fakebook, utoob, instagram, etc., that are deplatforming any non-far-left accounts.

    1. fredesmite2

      Re: Far-right Huh?

      until they block lefties

    2. Stuart Castle Silver badge

      Re: Far-right Huh?

      Re: “ . Unlike the far-left outlets like twitter, fakebook, utoob, instagram, etc., that are deplatforming any non-far-left accounts.”.

      Plenty of right wing posters on all of those. Including the Trump children. It’s only those that break terms of service that get kicked off. Trump sr did get kicked off, but in the four years he was president, he regularly posted stuff that would have got any non president banned.

  14. fredesmite2

    wanta bet Amazon has more and better lawyers

    to curb stomp those filthy cockroaches into a oily grease stain? The victimized privileged racist can't seem to grasp the EULA they signed.

  15. fredesmite2

    #TrumpTrash whine endlessly

    On people controlling their FREEDUMB of speech free social media advertising platforms that they choose to ignore the EULA fine print.

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