Apple gives the app Parler 24 hours to add moderation or it will be removed from the App Store

Parler, a social media network, has been informed by Apple that it has a limited time to enact a form of moderation on its platform or face removal from the App Store.

Input Mag has the report late on Friday. Apple has informed the developers behind the social network’s app that they have just 24 hours to implement a form of moderation on the platform. If they do not, they will face eviction from Apple’s App Store.

Per the report, which cites an email that was sent to Parler from Apple today:

In an email sent by Apple to Parler this morning (Pacific Time) and obtained by Input, the company provided numerous examples of Parler users explicitly calling for violence and referenced CEO John Matze’s comment that he doesn’t “feel responsible for any of this and neither should the platform.

Apple is a stickler for the content available in apps that are distributed directly through the App Store. It’s made this point numerous times over the years. And, as such, it has apparently decided that the content on Parler has reached the boiling point. Apple says that Parler is responsible for the content that is generated and shared on its platform, despite what the company’s CEO may believe:

We want to be clear that Parler is in fact responsible for all the user generated content present on your service and for ensuring that this content meets App Store requirements for the safety and protection of our users,” the company said. “We won’t distribute apps that present dangerous and harmful content.

What’s more, Apple points to the activities that took place in Washington, D.C., at the Capitol Building, on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The company says that it is aware that the platform was used to “plan, coordinate, and facilitate” what happened. That event not only led to property damage, but also physical injury of rioters and law enforcement, as well as the loss of life. What’s more, Apple says Parler is being used to actively plan further violence in the future:

We have received numerous complaints regarding objectionable content in your Parler service, accusations that the Parler app was used to plan, coordinate, and facilitate the illegal activities in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021 that led (among other things) to loss of life, numerous injuries, and the destruction of property. The app also appears to continue to be used to plan and facilitate yet further illegal and dangerous activities.

Apple has given Parler 24 hours. The company must remove the content that violates the company’s App Store Guidelines, bringing some level of moderation to the social network. If it does not, it will be removed from the digital storefront.