Apple says the app Parler will return to the App Store after the app was pulled from the store in early January following the riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“On March 31, Sen Mike Lee and I sent a letter demanding answers about why Apple removed Parler from the App Store,” Rep. Ken Buck wrote on Twitter.
“Today, we received a response: Parler will be reinstated on the App Store,” he added. “Huge win for free speech.”
On March 31, @SenMikeLee and I sent a letter demanding answers about why Apple removed Parler from the App Store.
🚨Today, we received a response: Parler will be reinstated on the App Store. Huge win for free speech. pic.twitter.com/FQBDSSSFGk
— Congressman Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck) April 19, 2021
Timothy Powderly, senior director for government affairs at Apple, told lawmakers in the response letter that he believes he was right to remove the app initially, CBN News reports.
“Apple’s App Review Team found a significant number of posts on the Parler app that clearly violated [its rule against objectionable content], including posts that encouraged violence, denigrated various ethnic groups, races and religions, glorified Nazism, and called for violence against specific people,” Powderly said.
He also said the app did an “inadequate” job protecting “users from this harmful and dangerous content.”
Representatives with Parler and Apple have had several meetings to work to bring the app into compliance with Apple policies.
“As a result of those conversations, Parler has proposed updates to its app and the app’s content moderation practices, and the App Review Team has informed Parler as of April 14, 2021, that its proposed updated app will be approved for reinstatement to the App Store,” the letter stated. “Apple anticipates that the updated Parler app will become available immediately upon Parler releasing it.”
In a tweet, Parler wrote they owed thanks to Lee and Buck.
“Thanks to @RepKenBuck and @SenMikeLee for their efforts to learn and expose the truth behind three tech companies’ decisions to suddenly – all on one weekend in January – unjustly deplatform #Parler, precisely when it was becoming a serious #socialmedia contender,” their tweet said.
Photo courtesy: William Hook/Unsplash
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
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