Parler was reportedly denied reentry into Apple‘s app store after the company reviewed the platform over its connections to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
After Parler was kicked off the app store in January, Apple requested the social network to change its moderation practices but ruled its new community guidelines are still insufficient to comply with the app store rules.
“As you know, developers are required to implement robust moderation capabilities to proactively identify, prevent and filter this objectionable content to protect the health and safety of users,” Apple said in its letter to Parler, which was obtained by Bloomberg.
Apple claimed that it found several screenshots to support its decision to reject Parler’s reentry, including user profile pictures with swastikas and what it deemed was content that supported white nationalism, misogyny, homophobia, and racism.
“In fact, simple searches reveal highly objectionable content, including easily identified offensive uses of derogatory terms regarding race, religion and sexual orientation, as well as Nazi symbols,” Apple wrote. “For these reasons your app cannot be returned to the App Store for distribution until it complies with the guidelines.”
On Wednesday, Parler laid off its three remaining iOS developers and eliminated seven workers in total, most of whom were contractors.
The platform, known to be a preference to Twitter among some conservatives, went offline after Jan. 6, cutting ties with Amazon WebServices and being removed from Google and Apple. The site relaunched in February with support from cloud hosting company SkySilk.
READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER BY CLICKING HERE
Parler launched to counter other mainstream social media apps and prided itself on its embrace of free speech, as well as a “respect for privacy and personal data,” according to its website.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Parler and Apple for comment but did not immediately hear back.
