After being taken down by the Alphabet Inc-owned (GOOGL.O) firm in the wake of the riots at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, Parler, a social media app that is popular with American conservatives, is now back in the Google Play store, more than one and a half years later. When the app was introduced in 2018, it positioned itself as a free-speech area for users looking for an alternative to websites like Twitter (TWTR.N). It swiftly acquired popularity amongst Donald Trump’s fans in the United States.
However, major tech platforms cut ties with Parler for failing to police violent content that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
The app is now being reinstated after it undertook a series of measures to moderate content on the platform, including features to block abusive users and remove content that could incite violence, a Google spokesperson said.
Parler has substantially modified its app to comply with Play Store’s policies and will be available for download from Friday, the spokesperson added.
“Parler has a strong commitment to free speech and despite the market duopoly, is working to provide options and choices for the millions of voices currently being censored or suppressed based on their viewpoint,” said Christina Cravens, Parler’s marketing chief.
To be sure, Parler had made its app available for Android phones through a separate version that could be downloaded on its website after it was removed from Play Store.
