*Apple CEO Tim Cook has defended the company’s decision to remove right-wing social media site Parler from its online store.
The popular platform among many conservatives and fans of Trum was removed from the Apple and Google app stores in wake of the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol by angry Trump supporters.
Cook explained to Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday” that “We looked at the incitement to violence that was on [Parler}. And we don’t consider that free speech and incitement to violence has an intersection,” he said.
Watch Cook’s interview via the clip above.
Meanwhile, Parler CEO John Matze told Reuters the social media site may “never” come back.
“It could be never,” he said, when asked if Parler will be back online soon. “We don’t know yet.”
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Download Parler Social Media!
Free speech and expression.
Unbiased algorithms.
We will never sell or share your data!
We are a community of real people with a real message. https://t.co/2aw3zqnFd5 #Parler #censorship #freespeech #Parley #howdoyouparley #SafetyFirst pic.twitter.com/5drEdInZxD
— Parler (@parler_app) February 7, 2020
The app was removed by Apple and Google after refusing to censor content posted by users.
“Parler has some issues with moderation,” Cook said. “Our hope is that they do that and get back on the store.”
Once the app is back up, Matze told Fox News that the “platform will be free speech-first,” but that it will also be using “algorithmic approaches” to remove some inflammatory posts.
“We will be having algorithms look at all the content … to try and predict whether it’s a terms-of-service violation so we can adjust quicker and the most egregious things can get taken down,” Matze said. “So calls for violence, incitements, things of that nature, can be taken down immediately.”
“It’s hard to keep track of how many people are telling us that we can no longer do business with them, ” he told The Wall Street Journal.
#Parler CEO John Matze and his family have reportedly gone into #hiding after receiving multiple death and harassment #threats.https://t.co/ThEV4U720X
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) January 17, 2021
Cook said Apple may restore Parler if it censors posts that encourage violence.
“We obviously don’t control what’s on the internet, but we’ve never viewed that our platform should be a simple replication of the internet. We have rules and regulations and we just ask that people abide by those,” Cook said.
Parler has filed a lawsuit against Amazon for removing the site from its servers, claiming a violation of federal antitrust law, per TheWrap.
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