Parler sold to a new owner and goes offline
Parler, a self-described “unbiased” alternative to mainstream social networks, is being purchased by a company that plans to temporarily shut down the platform.
According to a statement posted to Parler’s website on Friday, its parent company Parlement Technologies has agreed to sell the platform to digital media company Starboard (formerly Olympic Media). This comes with the deal expected to be finalized by “the end of Q2, 2023.”
According to Starboard, Parlement’s pivot to cloud services was the right move last year. The platform will also undergo a “strategic assessment.”
“No reasonable person believes that a Twitter clone just for conservatives is a viable business anymore,” the statement says.
But it says its newly acquired platform could serve “marginalized or even outright censored communities.” It can also potentially focus on appeal “beyond domestic politics” while benefiting from the user base Parler accrued.
Neither company has explicitly stated that the social media network will cease operations immediately. However, the site is currently inaccessible due to Starboard’s acquisition statement.
In addition, the iOS app for Parler is throwing 404 errors when you try to sign up. The statement notes that “the Parler app as it currently constituted will be pulled down from operation.” Starboard has not disclosed when the service will be relaunched.
Parler has faced multiple controversies since it was founded in 2018. Favored by far-right conservatives for its promises to promote “free speech.”
The service was allegedly among those used to plan the January 6th insurrection and was pulled (and later restored) by multiple services. These include Google Play, Amazon Web Services, and the Apple App Store. This stems from concerns about the largely unmoderated violent content being posted to the platform.
Parler had attempted and failed to sue Amazon for shutting down its services, arguing that doing so would be like “pulling the plug on a hospital patient on life support.”
Similar social media networks aligned with conservative views have struggled to maintain their audiences. As former president Donald Trump’s platform attempts to attract new users, it continues to face financial and legal issues. This comes as a result of a billion-dollar fraud investigation into Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, one of Gettr’s original investors, Gettr has struggled financially and laid off staff.
As part of Parlement Technologies’ strategy to prevent its reputation from affecting further business interests, Kanye West, now legally known as Ye, entered into an agreement to purchase the platform last October.
In a show hosted by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, West appeared alongside white supremacist Nick Fuentes on December 1st, the same day the company announced it had “mutually agreed” to terminate the deal.
Around 75 percent of Parler’s employees were laid off in January, including the majority of the company’s executives.
