Twitter-alternative, Parler, may be up and running by the end of this month. After the January 6th Capitol protests and riots, Apple and Google removed the Parler app from their respective stores under allegations of inciting violence. In addition to that, Amazon cut off Parler's access to AWS, effectively shutting the entire platform down.

However, in a recent interview with Fox News (archive link), CEO John Matze was confident that Parler will be back online by the end of January. The platform has changed its domain from DreamHost to Epik, the same registrar for Gab.com which is another Twitter alternative. Most recently, it has recruited the services of DDoS-Guard, a Russian company. Of course, that has raised the eyebrows of many people as the company also provides its services to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

I think Parler's potential return to the social media ring is a good thing. Twitter holds a disproportionate amount of power in not just the social media market, but also in US politics. Its frequent shadowbanning of users who hold anti-establishment views is why so many people flocked to Parler (before it got taken down) and Gab. It also does not help Twitter and other mainstream platforms get a free pass when there is evidence that rioters organized on their sites. For instance, Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA activist, John Sullivan, made a post on Instagram specifying the exact time and place for where he would riot. His Instagram post also included a Facebook link.

That said, while I am happy for Parler, their continued reliance on centralized services is risky. Gab runs its own servers so it does not need to worry about getting shut down by a vendor. Other alternative media platform sites like Minds and LBRY/Odysee use decentralization. Of course, Minds was forced to remove key features from its app on Android and iOS, so decentralization is not the panacea against censorship. However, you can still use its features on a mobile browser. Once Parler is back online, John Matze must not sit still. He needs to take additional measures in case things go awry again.