Following Elon Musk, who is eventually buying Twitter, musician Kanye West, also known as Ye, has decided to buy the social network Parler, which positions itself as an alternative to Twitter and a “platform for freedom of speech”. The company Parlement Technologies, which owns the social network, announced in a press release about the acquisition of Parler. The deal is expected to close later this year.
“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” Kanye West said in a press statement.
Parler’s parent company, Parlement Technologies, said the acquisition would help create “an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome.”
Parler’s emphasis on free speech has made it a major resource for conspiracy theorists. The platform was accused of helping the rebels plan and coordinate the storming of the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. After the riots, both Google and Apple removed Parler from their app stores. Apple cited “threats of violence and illegal activity” on Parler and said the social network “has not taken adequate measures to address the proliferation of these threats to people’s safety.” That same month, Amazon also denied Parler its web hosting.
Parler was later reinstated in both app stores after agreeing to more rigorous post moderation. Its website came back online in February 2021.
In a press release about the sale, Parlement Technologies said the company would continue to provide “ongoing technical support” and offer cloud services through its “private cloud and data center infrastructure” after the acquisition.
In a press statement, Parlement Technologies CEO George Farmer said the deal “change the world, and change the way the world thinks about free speech.”
News of the acquisition comes just over a week after Kanye West was banned from his Instagram account and then Twitter (the latter for posting an anti-Semitic tweet).
It’s also worth noting that Kanye West was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016 and has since been open about his mental health issues.
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