Parler, the social media platform popular among right-wing audiences and removed from app stores due to its association with calls for violence around January 6, 2021, is set to relaunch early next year, as announced by the company’s new owners on Monday.
Ryan Rhodes, the newly appointed chief executive of Parler, stated, “We’re committed to bringing Parler back online.” The app had been deactivated in April after its acquisition by Starboard, a digital media company. Mr. Rhodes, along with Elise Pierotti, who formerly served as the company’s chief marketing officer, completed the purchase of the company last week, according to Ms. Pierotti.
Parler, initially promoted as a platform for “uncancelable free speech,” previously attracted millions of supporters of former President Donald J. Trump and was once the most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store. However, following the January 6 attacks on the Capitol, tech companies withdrew their support, citing insufficient content moderation regarding posts that incited violence or crime.
Both Apple and Google removed the app from their stores at that time, and Amazon terminated the company’s web-hosting service. Consequently, Parler faced challenges in maintaining its user base after being effectively banned from app stores across most smartphones globally. Although later reinstated in both Apple and Google app stores, the platform struggled to regain its previous prominence.
The impending relaunch is timed with Mr. Trump’s third campaign for the presidency, but Mr. Rhodes asserted that Parler’s new management would implement measures to prevent “harmful content like terrorism, child porn, and trafficking” on the platform. He also clarified that the revamped Parler would not be in direct competition with Truth Social, a conservative social media platform launched by Mr. Trump, which gained dominance in Parler’s absence.
In a statement, Parler expressed its commitment to “a return to its roots as a robust marketplace of ideas.” The platform had faced controversy previously, such as the unraveling of a deal with rapper Kanye West to purchase it after he was criticized for making antisemitic remarks.
On Monday, Ms. Pierotti initially listed Jaco Booyens as a co-owner of the new Parler iteration, but later clarified that he is “just on the team as the Chief Strategy Officer” after the article was published.
