Amazon And Twitter “Deplatforming“ Parler And Trump; Is It Legal?

Amazon And Twitter “Deplatforming“ Parler And Trump; Is It Legal?

Contributing Author: Bryan Sullivan

The shocking events of the Trump-fueled January 6, 2021 Capitol Riot had very visible and, in some cases, unexpected consequences. Within days of the violent Capitol insurrection, some social media and web service platforms suspended the accounts of Donald Trump and many of his supporters, who participated in inciting and organizing the Capitol breach. The sweeping suspensions included over 70,000 Twitter accounts, as well as the ban of "free speech“ social media platform Parler by Amazon



AMZN

, Web Services, Apple



AAPL

, and Google



GOOG

. Right-wing megaphones are now ringing loudly, with cries of "censorship“ and "free speech.“ But have anyone's rights been violated? The simple answer is "no.“

In some instances, the suspensions were a surprise - most social media platforms had bent over backwards NOT to remove Trump or his followers' accounts and posts, slowly and reluctantly adopting content disclaimers and warnings. The reaction was far more expected, as many conservative voices began to rail against social media and tech giants. Among the claims: that this is a violation of free speech, and that a private company restricting access