Before we start, make sure to check out my latest over at Glibertarians – this time, a preview of something you might find interesting.
I’ve been dabbling around on Parler (pronounced par-lay, from the French, meaning “to speak.”) You can in fact see my Parler works by following the link on the left, although I confess most of my activity is just reposts from here. But now Apple and Google Play are deplatforming Parler; fortunately the url works just fine. Excerpt:
Twitter banned President Trump on Friday and prominent conservatives like Mark Levin have been encouraging followers to move to Parler, an app dedicated to protecting free speech. Now, cancel culture has enlisted Apple and Google in its fight to eradicate the left’s opposition.
The New York Times reported that Apple and Google have removed the social networking app Parler from the companies’ app stores, preventing countless conservatives from finding an alternative to Facebook and Twitter.
On Saturday morning, Parler was listed as the No. 1 iPhone app as millions of the president’s followers search for a friendlier alternative to Twitter and Facebook. Despite Parler’s popularity on the app store, Apple said it banned the app on Saturday.
“We have always supported diverse points of view being represented on the App Store, but there is no place on our platform for threats of violence and illegal activity,” Apple said in a statement. “Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety.”
Parler CEO John Matze responded to Apple’s decision.
“Apple, a monopoly, provides no alternatives to installing apps on your phone other than their store … big tech tyrants coordinate moves and work together to stifle competition in the marketplace,” Matze wrote in a statement.
This kind of deplatforming has nothing to do with “threats of violence and illegal activity.” If it was, Twitter would have long ago banned AntiProfa and BLM activists. This is speech suppression, pure and simple, and both Apple and Google wield enough power to make their suppression effective.
Honestly, I’m underwhelmed with Parler, which is why my contributions are limited to reposting. The noise-to-signal ratio isn’t really any better than Twitter – in other words, awful – and I hate the text-limited, bumper-stick format. When I feel strongly about a topic, I tend to go on at some length, and that platform doesn’t allow me to do so.
But here’s the thing: All of this started with the moves to silence President Trump, and is now moving on to silence anyone with views to the right of center. These aren’t the actions of people who are convinced of the rightness of their views. These are the actions of people who are afraid. They are afraid to let contrary ideas spread. Why, do you suppose?
Maybe they understand that silencing people who are already angry is not the way to peace and reconciliation.
