Parler's CEO John Matze is 'confident' the controversial social-media platform will fully return by the end of January, after Amazon booted it offline

Parler CEO John Matze — Parler's CEO John Matze.
Fox News

Parler's CEO John Matze said the social media site will likely be back up and running before the end of January.
It went offline after being dropped by Amazon, and has since returned — but only a static webpage.
The social-media platform managed to retrieve its data from Amazon on Friday, Matze told Fox News.
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John Matze, the CEO of the controversial social-media platform Parler, is "confident" the site will be live again by the end of January.

Parler was dropped by its website host Amazon Web Services (AWS) on January 11. AWS said the platform "poses a very real risk to public safety."

The site has since registered its domain with Epik and returned on Sunday as a static page containing a brief note from Matze, alongside an update on the site's "technical difficulties."

"I'm confident that by the end of the month, we'll be back up," Matze told Fox News Sunday night.

Parler, which describes itself as a "nonpartisan" haven for free speech, had become a hub for President Donald Trump's supporters after many of their Twitter accounts were purged from the social media site, alongside Trump's own.

In the days after the Capitol siege on January 6, it became a haven for far-right activity and misinformation because of its lax stance on moderating content. Some users called for further violence.

Google and Apple barred the app from their app stores, citing "continued posting in the Parler app that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the US" - but on Sunday Apple CEO's Tim Cook said Parler could be restored to the app store "if they get their moderation together."

"We're making significant progress," Matze told Fox News. "When you go into Parler.com it doesn't go into the void now, it hits a server, and it returns just one piece of information."

Parler website — Parler's website now takes users to a static page with an update from the company
Insider

After AWS took Parler offline, Parler hit the tech giant with an antitrust lawsuit, disputing Amazon's claims that it repeatedly warned Parler about violent content.

Parler is now on the road to returning, Matze told Fox News, and will post updates on its progress to the website every day.

The platform managed to retrieve its data from Amazon on Friday, he added, without elaborating.

"Now we can actually rebuild Parler," he said. "It's critically important."

Matze has reportedly fled his home and gone into hiding following death threats and security breaches.

None of the site's staff have resigned, he said.

"We haven't even had one employee quit," he said. "Not one, even with them being harassed and threatened, no one has quit … we've got such a strong team, this has just made them believe in us more."

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