Apple to let Parler back on App Store

Apple has approved Parler’s return to the iOS app store following improvements the social media company made to better detect and moderate hate speech and incitement.

The decision clears the way for Parler, an app popular with conservatives, to be downloaded again on Apple devices.

In a letter sent to Congress by Apple, the company explained that since the app was removed from Apple’s platform in January for violations of its policies, Parler “has proposed updates to its app and the app’s content moderation practices.”

On April 14, Apple’s app review team told Parler that its proposed changes were sufficient, the letter continued. Now, all Parler needs to do is to flip the switch, reported CNN.

“Apple anticipates that the updated Parler app will become available immediately upon Parler releasing it,” Apple’s letter said.

Parler, an alternative to Facebook and Twitter that bills itself as a haven for free speech, was removed from major tech platforms in early January following the US Capitol riots of Jan. 6.

Parler was kicked off of Apple and Google’s app stores, as well as Amazon Web Services.

The presence of violent speech was cited as a reason for removal by all three tech giants.

The app came back online on Feb. 15, but not before Parler’s CEO was terminated by its board. It took another two months for Apple to give its approval restoring Parler to its app store, reported CNN.

In the meantime, Parler is waging a legal battle against Amazon, alleging in part that Big Tech companies colluded to restrict Parler’s access to the market. In court filings and elsewhere, Parler has said that it had been developing an artificial intelligence-based content moderation system when the larger platforms’ crackdown took place.

The tech companies have rejected Parler’s accusations of anti-competitive behavior. In Monday’s letter, Apple said its decision to remove Parler from its app store was “an independent decision” and that Apple “did not coordinate or otherwise consult with Google or Amazon with respect to that decision,” reported CNN.

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