I think they have a point. I've read a bit into this and apparently the trending topic on twitter on Friday was about hanging mike pence. AWS didn't de-platform twitter did it?
Also I thought under Section 230 platforms were not responsible for their users behaviour?
I think
you've missed the point, Joe.
Unlike Parler, Twitter proactively removes content that violates their Terms of Service. Sometimes, it is hard for them to keep on top of all the millions of posts that are flooding in but when they realized that "hang Mike Pense" was trending in the early hours of Saturday morning they took aggressive moves to stop it, citing risks of 'further incitement to violence'. They blocked the phrase and suspended thousands of accounts. In the interim, they have permanently banned former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Donald Trump’s attorney ally Sidney Powell in a purge of high-profile users peddling baseless, dangerous QAnon conspiracy theories. They've also now banned an additional 70,000 QAnon accounts which were
“suspended in line with our policy on Coordinated Harmful Activity,” Hardly the grounds for AWS to feel motivated to de-platform Twitter.
Facebook has taken similar steps in regard to the provocative "Stop the Steal" posts but they are allowing neutral discussions on the topic.
Both Google and Apple have banned the Parler App from their platforms.
Apple said:
“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 stated “
Parler has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety."
Google said that
“to protect user safety on Google Play, our longstanding policies require that apps displaying user-generated content have moderation policies and enforcement that removes egregious content like posts that incite violence.” It continued, “We’re aware of continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the U.S.”
Section 230 is a section of the
Communications Decency Act that provides "Good Samaritan" protection from civil liability for operators of interactive computer services in the removal or moderation of third-party material they deem obscene or offensive, even of constitutionally protected speech, as long as it is done in good faith.
Section 230 generally provides immunity for website publishers from third-party content but it does not entirely absolve websites from all responsibility or allow the promotion of illegal activity. As a result, and because they have business interests to protect most major web sites and social media outlets are responsible business entities that have policies, guidelines and Terms of Service agreements in place that govern content and user behavior on their platforms.
Not so for Parler it seems! No moderation for them! Parler presents itself with open arms as a welcoming "free speech" cesspool for all kinds of unmoderated conservative and extremist Right-wing fringe conspiracy theories, misinformation, hate speech, antisemitism and Holocaust denialism, Islamophobia, homophobia, Nazism, doxing and death threats towards individuals, politicians, journalists and others along with all kinds of other vile stuff. They also allowed alleged Russian disinformation to proliferate despite concerns expressed by national security agencies.
And it gets worse! For an extended period of time Parler allowed far right-wing extremist groups like the Boogaloo Bois, The Proud Boys, QAnon, the Three Percenters movement, the Wolverine Watchmen and their sympathizers and hangers-on to openly plot and coordinate
sedition with the intention to storm and ransack the seat of our government - the Capitol Building while Congress was in session to certify the election of the next President in an act of
insurrection intent on seizing and burning the ballots and overthrowing the government of the United States of America. And, oh yeah, they also openly promoted and plotted on Parler a plan to capture, restrain and murder the Vice President, the Speaker of the House and others by hanging! They even brought a homemade gallows with them and were captured in a large group on video chanting "Hang Mike Pense"!
But according to you Joe, maybe they have a point in suing AWS because their account got pulled due to all of this behavior seriously violating their platform hosting Terms of Service after no actions were taken by Parler to do anything about this, despite repeated warnings from Amazon? Really?
How might you feel if a British based web platform allowed the plotting in plain sight for everyone to see of a violent overthrow of your government and storming and ransacking of Parliament while in session, perhaps to also murder some of your most prominent politicians? Would that be OK with you? Would such a web platform be free of culpability?
