Children groups warn about Parler
he advocacy group Parents Together Action issued a public warning Friday about the alternative social media app Parler, arguing it doesn’t moderate content, which is “dangerous for minors.”
“Parents should know that due to Parler’s dangerous combination of an extremist user base and almost non-existent moderation of content, hate speech, incitements to violence and disinformation about the election results are pervasive on the platform,” the group wrote.
The organization urged parents to check their children’s devices to ensure they have not installed Parler, noting its rise in popularity since Election Day. If they have, the group recommends deleting their child’s account and the app.
Parents Together Action underscored their warning by stating that Parler does not require users to share their age or birth date while signing up.
The app does, however, require users to be at least 13 years old and have “express permission” from a legal guardian if they’re under 18, based on its user agreements.
Parler brands itself as a “free-speech” platform and has been boosted by conservative figures in the wake of Election Day.
As social media giants Facebook and Twitter took action to label posts with misinformation about the election, including those from President Trump casting doubt on the results and President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Parler allowed such posts to remain unchecked.
Experts have raised concerns over the potential for disinformation to spread and conspiracy theories to flourish due to Parler’s hands-off approach.
