Republicans press Google, Apple, Amazon on Parler removals

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), the top Republicans on the House and Senate antitrust subcommittees sent letters to Google, Apple and Amazon pressing the tech giants over their actions to remove from their platforms the fringe social media site Parler after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

The Republicans questioned whether the companies followed “procedural fairness” in pulling Parler, and framed the actions as “three of the largest technology companies in the world” targeting “one small business.”

Google and Apple removed Parler from their app stores just days after the deadly riot at the Capitol, after the platform was found to be rife with posts about storming the building. The companies cited Parler’s lack of content moderation policies and public safety concerns in making the decision.

Shortly afterward, Amazon Web Services suspended Parler’s platform, citing concerns the platform could not adequately screen out potential incendiary content, including material that incites violence.