Parler is a national security threat and needs to be shut down immediately

[Wicked Blue]

Other sites where these traitors are celebrating and plotting need to be shut down too, IMHO.

Here's part of an article from Salon, via RawStory this morning:

On Parler, the MAGA social media platform, Trump supporters are ready for insurrection

https://www.rawstory.com/parler/

On Thursday morning, the phrase "#Twexit" — a portmanteau of "Twitter" and "exit" — trended on Parler, the so-called "free speech" social media platform that has become an online hub for Trump supporters and conservatives to meet online.

The site, which visually resembles Twitter or Facebook, became a haven for many pro-Trump types after many of them were banned or blocked from other major social media sites. Whereas posts on Twitter are called tweets, on Parler they are known as "parleys."

The trending hashtag was the unintended consequence of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube's Wednesday crackdown on Trump himself, who was banned or restricted from posting on most major platforms after some of his supporters broke into the U.S. Capitol and ransacked it, an invasion that resulted in four deaths. In an attempt to calm his supporters who falsely believe the 2020 presidential election was "rigged," Trump posted a video spewing misinformation about the election, and called the people participating in Wednesday's riot "very special."

[dalton99a]

1. Where is Rebekah Mercer?

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/15/media/rebekah-mercer-parler/index.html

Meet Rebekah Mercer, the deep-pocketed co-founder of Parler, a controversial conservative social network
By Alexis Benveniste and Kaya Yurieff, CNN
Updated 1:56 PM ET, Mon November 16, 2020

New York (CNN Business) Rebekah Mercer, a prominent conservative donor, revealed Saturday that she is helping to bankroll Parler, the rapidly growing but controversial conservative social media platform that was at the top of App Store charts last week.

Mercer is the daughter of Robert Mercer, a hedge fund manager and the co-founder of the now-defunct political data-analysis firm Cambridge Analytica. The Mercers have been prominent supporters of President Donald Trump and conservative causes.

"John and I started Parler to provide a neutral platform for free speech, as our founders intended, and also to create a social media environment that would protect data privacy," Mercer said in a statement on the platform. "The ever increasing tyranny and hubris of our tech overlords demands that someone lead the fight against data mining, and for the protection of free speech online. That someone is Parler, a beacon to all who value their liberty, free speech, and personal privacy."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parler

Parler was founded in 2018 by John Matze and Jared Thomson. In November 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that Rebekah Mercer, an investor known for her support of conservative individuals and organizations, had helped fund Parler. After the report was published, Mercer described herself as having "started Parler" with Matze, and she has been described by CNN as a co-founder of the company.[2][1][34]

[TigressDem]

2. Or just data mine it to keep ahead of the traitors. nt

[exboyfil]

8. It doesn't work when you are complicit though

I suspect it will go dark in two weeks.

[TigressDem]

10. Yeah and the only way to get the info is to yank the data now and prosecute in new Admin. nt

[SheltieLover]

3. Maybe it is allowed so FBI can keep an eye on them

Not that this mattered on 1/6!

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. Actually, it's the perfect surveillance portal for the FBI. Nt

[sboatcar]

5. I kind of feel like Parler was set up by a government intelligence agency

Tell them that they're free to spew all the stuff they want, and then use it to collect evidence. Seems like a perfect honeypot.

[roamer65]

6. Perfect MAGAt trap.

I’m sure the FBI will be weaponizing it soon, if not already.

If I were in power, I would.

[TheBlackAdder]

7. All social media shut them off, except for Parler, then. . .

.



.

[NCDem47]

9. Gab too!

I accidently was dumped on their home page and...oh boy. You could feel the heat and toxic stew coming from the site.

[Voltaire2]

11. The correct reaction to an authoritarian conspiracy to overthrow the republic

is not an authoritarian regime.

[Wicked Blue]

12. I agree with you

However even a temporary shutdown might save lives if they are planning to do more actions

[luv2fly]

13. MSNBC panelist this AM said much was planned on Facebook

It was during Morning Joe, not sure who it was, but following your logic FB should be shut down as well.

AMEN.

[Wicked Blue]

14. More pressure needs to be applied on Zuckerberg

to close down those sites on FB

[dware]

16. So you want to shit all over the 1st Amendment?

How long do you think this obvious violation of the 1A would survive a court challenge?

It would be struck down before the ink even dried.

[Wicked Blue]

17. Thank you for your kindly words

I worked as a newspaper journalist for more than a quarter of a century and am familiar with First Amendment rights.
However if they are plotting more insurrection, it might be a matter of national security and public safety to at least temporarily close them down.

[dware]

18. So your solution is to fight authoritarism is to become an authoritarian?

Even temporarily, it's still a violation of the 1A.

[Wicked Blue]

19. Well, we can always reach out to them and be friends nt

[dware]

21. That won't work either,

but becoming what they would like to do is not the way to counter them, not violating the Constitution.

[Wicked Blue]

22. What solutions do you have. I'd like to hear them nt

[dware]

23. Parler is the perfect surveillance platform to monitor these RWNJ,

it wouldn't surprise me in the least if this was set up by the DHS, FBI, etc to monitor them, shut down their platform and guess what? Besides it being a violation of the 1A, it would also drive them deeper underground where the Feds can't monitor them.

My solution is to leave it up and let the various Fed agencies monitor them.

The new AG, Merrick Garland, is probably in favor of just this scenario, because they MAGAT's can't resist talking about the crimes they've committed or crimes they're about to commit.

That's just one aspect, I'm quite sure there are others that can be take without 1A violations.

[brooklynite]

15. Might want to check that pesky First Amendment

And if you believe that social media platforms should be held liable for the content of their users (a policy which would be applicable here), then you agree with Donald Trump on deleting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

[Azathoth]

20. Parler is the best thing to happen in awhile

It is attracting many of the truly crazy and dangerous individuals away from traditional social media, where their insanity was getting pushed onto unwitting normal people. It's becoming a quarantine zone for right-wing mental illness.

And best of all, it's a public quarantine zone. It can be monitored easily. Tracked. Reported on. Account data subpoenaed.

Shut down Parler and you're going to see these guys retreat more and more to encrypted and hidden services like Telegram which are harder to track. You won't suppress the movement, you'll just make them invisible until they suddenly attack.