Ye to buy controversial social networking app Parler

Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has agreed to buy Parler, a social media platform that has been embraced by conservatives who departed Twitter over allegations of political censorship.

Parlement Technologies, the parent company behind Parler, announced Monday that it plans to sell the social media platform to the hip-hop icon for an undisclosed amount. The deal would include technical support from Parlement, such as cloud services. 

Ye is buying his own social media platform at a time when the biggest tech firms are struggling with how to control and manage some of their largest users, and marks the continuing development of alternative social media sites.

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“In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” Ye said in a statement on Monday.

Ye has recently faced restrictions from the major social media platforms for breaking content policies. Twitter removed a tweet from Ye last week about Jewish people, just a day after he returned to the platform for the first time in nearly two years. Instagram has also deleted posts. 

Parler was also banned from the app stores of both Google and Apple Inc after violating their policies in January 2021 following the U.S. Capitol insurrection. The app returned to the Apple platform in May 2021, but only returned to Google’s main app store last month.

Parler is among a growing group of so-called alt-media sites that aim to give conservatives a forum to share views they feel are silenced on mainstream outlets. But the platforms have struggled at times to fulfill their users’ expansive definition of free speech while complying with app store policies.

Last month, Rumble Inc., the conservative video network backed by billionaire Peter Thiel and venture capitalist and Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance, became a publicly traded company through a deal with a blank-check firm. The shares rose as much as 40% during the company’s first day of trading and it is now worth $2.6 billion.

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, who welcomed the rapper back to Twitter just hours before Ye’s account was locked, has decided to proceed with his offer to purchase Twitter after months of back-and-forth negotiations. Musk has said he will prioritize free speech on Twitter and criticized its decision to ban individuals such as former President Donald Trump for violating its rules.