Ye, the rapper formerly known as Yeezus, announced that he is buying Parler on October 17.
George Farmer said that Ye will never have to fear being removed from social media again. Ye said that in a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial, we have to make sure we have the right to express ourselves.
Ye has never used Parler before and hadn't used Twitter in two years, so the announcement is surprising. The deal for an undisclosed amount of money was just one week after the rapper was suspended from both social media sites for posting antisemitic comments.
All major social media platforms moderate their content, even though they proclaim that free speech is sacrosanct. Parler has tried to appease app store requirements by increasing moderation.
According to Parler, it is the premier global free speech platform, an answer to the alleged censorship of conservative voices on social media websites. Mainstream platforms don't discriminate against conservative ideology and many of their most influential users are right-wing, according to studies.
New rules have been added by social media companies to reduce hate speech, limit threats of real-world violence, and curb the spread of misinformation about sensitive topics. Donald Trump was banned from many online platforms after inciting violence. The Truth Social platform was started by Trump. The company that owns Truth Social has been accused of securities fraud related to a troubled deal to go public via a separate blank check company.
It will soon be owned by a person with a similar dislike to moderation. Musk, whose path to buying the company is winding its way through the courts, has promised to roll back some speech controls, promote "free speech" on the app, and restore Trump on the social networking site.
Musk welcomed Ye back to the platform before the rapper went on an antisemitic rant and was suspended. Musk, who didn't have control over the decision, said that he spoke to Ye and that the rapper "took to heart."
Parler has a policy towards moderation. After the insurrection at the US Capitol, Parler was removed from the App Store and the Play Store for not adhering to their own moderation policies.
Any mobile app that is removed from these marketplaces is doomed. Users have to use a desktop or mobile web version of the app when an app is removed from a major marketplace. Parler has been trying to get back in Apple and Google's good graces by removing more violent and hate-filled content.
Parler was denied his application to rejoin the App Store in March of 2021. Parler's chief policy officer Amy Peikoff outlined all of the app's moderation efforts to weed out rule-breaking content. She said that Parler has new tools to stop attacks based on race, sex, sexual orientation, or religion.
After months of productive dialogue, Apple added Parler to the App Store in May 2021. Parler hasn't gained traction with a wide audience even after reappearing on Apple's and Google's app stores. It had 725,000 active users in the first half of the year. By comparison, Meta had nearly three billion users across its apps. Parler pivoted to "uncancelable" cloud services in September as a way to make more money.
Ye is the new owner and will surely bring in more users. Parlet has put in place a system to get back on the app stores. It will be difficult for the hip-hop star to deliver on his version of free speech that promises the right to freely express ourselves, with few if any conditions.
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