Parler Files Antitrust Suit Against Amazon

Social media site Parler, a right-wing alternative to Twitter and Facebook, has filed suit against Amazon. The suit alleges that Amazon Web Services’ decision to shut Parler down was the equivalent of “pulling the plug on a hospital patient on life support.” It said that Amazon acted out of “political animus,” and claimed that the move was a strategic decision to reduce competition in favor of Twitter, and therefore a violation of antitrust laws. It did not provide direct evidence showing that Amazon and Twitter coordinated the response. Instead, it pointed to a December news release announcing a multiyear strategic partnership between Amazon and Twitter. The complaint was filed in Washington state, by David J. Groesbeck, an intellectual property lawyer in Olympia, Wash. About 10 million people downloaded Parler in 2020, according to mobile app analytics company Sensor Tower. Parler didn’t specify a number of users in the complaint, but claimed its usage has climbed in 2021. Attempts to find an alternative web hosting service have “fallen through,” the company said, and it risks losing users the longer its service is down.