PARLER RELAUNCHES

Parler, a social media service popular with American right-wing users that virtually vanished after the U.S. Capitol riot, relaunched on Monday and said its new platform was built on “sustainable, independent technology.”

In a statement, Parler also said it had appointed Mark Meckler as its interim chief executive, replacing John Matze who was fired this month.

Parler went dark after being cut off by major service providers that accused the app of failing to police violent content related to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Despite the relaunch, the website was still not opening for many users and the app was not available for download on mobile stores run by Apple and Alphabet-owned Google, which had earlier banned the app.

Parler, which asserted it once had over 20 million users, said it would bring its current users back online in the first week and would be open to new users the next week.

Founded in 2018, the app has styled itself as a “free speech-driven” space and largely attracted U.S. conservatives who disagree with rules around content on other social media sites.