“Parler is happy to return to iOS , we have missed you!”. This is how the platform has returned to the App Store after it was banned from the application stores. Amazon was even tougher and removed the app from its cloud hosting service. In the antecedent is the philosophy of a platform that boasted of more than lax standards when it comes to content. Open bar for extremist and right-wing content, which was great news especially for Donald Trump supporters. The assault on the Capitol in January was the last straw for the tech giants to go against Parler.
Now it has returned to the App Store but with conditions. It seems that the most controversial part of Parler has been left behind and that they have implemented measures to control the content that their users publish. This means that the app will not be able to disseminate offensive or discriminatory posts that humiliate, intimidate or hurt an individual or group. In the event that one of your users posts content of this type, Parler will have to have a mechanism to block and report it. They have promised to achieve it with artificial intelligence.
The change, in fact, started when the former CEO, John Matze, was fired from his own company. He followed up with the Apple talks in mid-April, in which they promised to change some of its rules so that it would be reinstated in the company's Cupertino store. The question is whether this transformation will actually take place.
Parler or freedom of expression?
Parler's return to the App Store is another example of the polarization of political discourse on social media, as pointed out in an article in Recode. While Parler was selling an “anything goes” image, other applications such as Facebook and Twitter have long introduced rules to limit hateful content or misinformation.
These big tech stocks have been in the spotlight for a long time. For some, they represent a violation of freedom of expression. For others, they are too lax. “I even doubt that there is any real interest in ending this,” Marcelino Madrigal, a computer expert in network analysis, told Hypertextual. For Madrigal, Parler is a minority network with a very marked bias . “Financed by people of a very specific ideology. Their interest is not commercial.” Apple's decision, the response to political pressure “from Republicans to return to work.”
The news, in any case, has once again put in the spotlight the discussion on the fine line between internet security and the right to express oneself freely . A debate that reached its peak a few months ago, with the suspension of former President Donald Trump's account by Twitter.
Donald Trump's supporters: are they coming back or never leaving?
For the followers of the ideology of Donald Trump, these are not good times. Parler's veto – where they spread the messages that were the breeding ground for the assault on the Capitol – and the blocking of Twitter. Now that Parler is back, will the Trumpists also return?
First of all, they have never quite gone , just as Parler did not die entirely with the Amazon Web Services veto. From that moment, the application was deployed on the web thanks to Epik, a service that hosts other platforms related to the extreme right. Also, the platform can be downloaded on Android phones. Despite the Google Play Store still banning Parler, Android users can download the app on their phones by bypassing the online store.
Telegram has become the messaging app for many extremists and far-rightists
On the other hand, applications such as Telegram have done their bit so that extremists and far-rightists can win at their ease. Especially since the pandemic began, on the channels of this platform – which do not have any type of control – many people have come together to talk about conspiracy theories. QAnon has been one of the most active groups, as well as groups such as the anti-vaccines. María García Quintana, digital entrepreneur and expert in social networks and new technologies at the Madrid Distance University (Udima), explained to Hipertextual that Telegram also has its rules but that it is more permissive than others such as WhatsApp . “In the end, many will join networks where they do not put limits,” he said.
The limit of freedom of expression beyond Parler
Followers of extremist ideologies or even conspiracy theories have found their different oases in which to externalize their thoughts without censorship. That they have to do it “underneath” is cause for condemnation for many users. To what extent can or should the content on social networks be limited?
“If the Internet stands out for something, it is for facilitating the development and improvement of democracy, consolidating itself as a point of debate and meeting of ideas,” said José Sánchez Hernández, founder and specialist lawyer in Computer Law in Nivolap.
“But just as anyone has freedom of expression -recognized in article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights-, this fundamental right is neither absolute nor unlimited, that is, its limits can be found in the collision with other rights. fundamental “.
José Sánchez Hernández An example of these other rights would be to privacy, honor and self-image , at the same time that it would be necessary to analyze whether public order, tranquility and social peace are endangered or if it violates the law or morals.
“Therefore, in the digital environment, the comments made by Internet users must be evaluated from various prisms in order to know their possible illegality: what is the content of the message? What is the purpose of the issuer? Who is issuing the message? Who is the message addressed to? “, Continued Sánchez. In the event that any right is violated, the platforms would be obliged to remove the content immediately.
Trump returns to the load (and not in the App Store)
Parler may have toned down his content rules after the Capitol storming and Donald Trump's goads to do so, but the Trumpists have not disappeared. So much so that the former president of the United States has created his own platform, From the Desk of Donald J. Trump. Under the slogan Save America, the Republican publishes videos and collects statements. Also allows to make contributions to users. For now, you cannot write comments, but you can like your posts and share them on other platforms.
It is possible that, until Trump allows the comments, his followers will be able to continue using Parler; yes, with limitations , at least those who download the app from the App Store. Those who have continued to use Parler through the server that you have allowed to continue to exist will continue to spread their views even though it may be considered hateful content or derivatives. “It is difficult to stop it because there will always be someone who is interested in continuing to exist and finance it,” said María García Quintana. He concluded:
“It is true that we have Facebook, Google and Twitter, which have a lot of power and are quite large but there will always be someone who wants to go against them. At least in large technology there will be control and transparency.”
Maria Garcia Quintana Parler is back, at least a more moderate version of the one that was vetoed in January. Trump's followers have never left, either on Telegram or on the servers that have allowed the survival of the “anything goes” social network. Now, the question is whether Parler will continue to need the support of platforms that allow it to be hosted or if it will be able to survive in the App Store with its content rules.
