Those of us who don’t frequent extreme right-wing social media sites will likely be surprised and probably shocked by details emerging from Parler LLC’s lawsuit seeking a TRO to block Amazon Web Services from suspending its account.
Lawyers for AWS, in a legal memo opposing the issuance of a temporary restraining order, recited some violent and rather frightening posts that appeared on Parlor. It’s not pretty reading.
Amazon states directly that this is not question of free speech.
This case is not about suppressing speech or stifling viewpoints. It is not about a conspiracy to restrain trade. Instead, this case is about Parler’s demonstrated unwillingness and inability to remove from the servers of Amazon Web Services (“AWS”) content that threatens the public safety, such as by inciting and planning the rape, torture, and assassination of named public officials and private citizens. There is no legal basis in AWS’s customer agreements or otherwise to compel AWS to host content of this nature. AWS notified Parler repeatedly that its content violated the parties’ agreement, requested removal, and reviewed Parler’s plan to address the problem, only to determine that Parler was both unwilling and unable to do so. AWS suspended Parler’s account as a last resort to prevent further access to such content, including plans for violence to disrupt the impending Presidential transition.
AWS said it began warning Parler last November that posts threatening violence were not allowed by Amazon’s contract, after finding a number of such messages.
Over the next seven weeks, AWS reported more than 100 additional representative pieces of content advocating violence to Parler’s Chief Policy Officer, including:
? • “Fry’em up. The whole fkn crew. #pelosi #aoc #thesquad #soros #gates #chuckschumer #hrc #obama #adamschiff #blm #antifa we are coming for you and you will know it.”
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• “#JackDorsey … you will die a bloody death alongside Mark Suckerturd [Zuckerberg]…. It has been decided and plans are being put in place. Remember the photographs inside your home while you slept? Yes, that close. You will die a sudden death!”
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• “We are going to fight in a civil War on Jan.20th, Form MILITIAS now and acquire targets.”
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• “On January 20th we need to start systematicly [sic] assassinating [sic] #liberal leaders, liberal activists, #blm leaders and supporters, members of the #nba #nfl #mlb #nhl #mainstreammedia anchors and correspondents and #antifa. I already have a news worthy event planned.”
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• “Shoot the police that protect these shitbag senators right in the head then make the senator grovel a bit before capping they ass.”?• “After the firing squads are done with the politicians the teachers are next.”
•? “Death to @zuckerberg @realjeffbezos @jackdorsey @pichai.”
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• “White people need to ignite their racial identity and rain down suffering and death
like a hurricane upon zionists.”
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• “Put a target on these motherless trash [Antifa] they aren’t human taking one out
would be like stepping on a roach no different.”
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• “We need to act like our forefathers did Kill [Black and Jewish people] all Leave
no victims or survivors.”
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• “We are coming with our list we know where you live we know who you are and
we are coming for you and it starts on the 6th civil war… Lol if you will think it’s
a joke… Enjoy your last few days you have.”
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• “This bitch [Stacey Abrams] will be good target practice for our beginners.”
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• “This cu** [United States Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao] should be…
hung for betraying their country.”•? “Hang this mofo [Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger] today.”
•? “HANG THAt N***** ASAP”
There are many more examples in exhibits filed by AWS. I’ll try to post a few examples later today.
Are there Russian or other foreign trolls mixed in here to amplify the basic hate messages? I expect that’s likely. But the underlying voice here is, unfortunately, likely American.
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Free Speech / The First Amendment, is not the right we left departed from the English Monarchy.
The new liberal control over media uses the term “MODERATION” and or just censors what they do not like on “there web sites”. Web site access via network controlled monopolies are the town center of today. I greatly saddened by folks who have replaced Common Cause with Faciam!
I am sick to my stomach after reading those posts. It looks like they are planning to kill 90% of the US population.
I respectfully disagree with your analysis. Amazon is a public company and therefore should be prohibited from silencing political discourse it does not agree with. The messages you highlighted are disgusting, no doubt. Looking past the constitutional issues for just a moment, lets agree that regulating speech on an online platform like Parler is extremely expensive. The new requirements of AWS will serve as an effective barrier of entry for future tech competitors. It is time to break up this Monopoly once and for all!
AWS is Amazon’s property.
Would you allow somebody to come into your house and write death threats to your family on your living room walls?
What is a public forum for free speech? How about a private shopping center:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pruneyard_Shopping_Center_v._Robins
Of course, this decision would not allow the type of conduct that Amazon has banned. And, again, Parler alleges AWS has violated its contract by essentially terminating Parler’s account.
Should be prohibited? Under what theory? Bottom line is at the moment it is not.
Thank you for this post, Ian. I suspect that most of your readership are strong advocates of free speech, as am I, in my case even for people on the hard right who some on the left would like to “cancel” these days. But not even the strongest ACLU types would advocate forcing Amazon Web Services or similar entities to publish these sorts of extremely violent threats directed at specific individuals or groups. Your post does indeed clarify matters for those of us who would never visit sites such as Parler.
Major spelling correction:
Fascism (/?fæ??z?m/) is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition and strong regimentation of society and of the economy which came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe.
As a fiscal conservative, it kills me too see the vast squandering and waste of our
taxes by with things like The Rail.
And, I used to tremendously respect liberals who were extremely pro free speech above all…those days are gone and an all out death match has replaced all communications between left and right, to extreme violation of each other’s principal rights.
The days of John McLaughlin on the right and Eleanor Clift on the left listening respectfully to each other are prehistoric history.
Ian, we at least amongst true Hawaii Kama’aina can do so much better. If we can’t do it with Aloha, we as a people before views, parties or Country we are doomed!
Burning books in moderation is next. Even Charles Manson got published like Hitler. Should we outlaw these authors, not understand what drove them “as nuts” and doom future generations to repeat historic disasters.
Stalin and Mao wrote this book and they, went a lot farther than Hitler. Please reconsider and sponsor discussion of public discourse concerning moderation and censorship.
That’s not a good analogy. The question should be does a book publisher have the right to reject an authors work they aren’t interested in publishing. Leaving the author to self publish or find a other willing publisher. That’s what Amazon did.
When I post something on Ian’s blog I do so knowing this is HIS BLOG and he can do whatever he wants with the comments and can choose to not publish my comments.
IF he chooses to not publish my comment, I move on. Not cry and carry on about my RIGHTS being trampled on and the First Amendment being violated.
You want to know who the REAL “Snowflakes” are? Just look at the players on the right and their ceaseless whining.
Regardless of how despicable those quotes are, I think it is a slippery slope to suppress any comments. Do we think that we are the only logical and intelligent ones that know right from wrong and that we have to babysit and censor the ones that aren’t? Who decides?
Suppose Islamic terrorists were actively encouraging people on Twitter to gather and commit acts of violence against you and your family and that people were making plans and agreeing when and where to gather. Would you be okay with Twitter allowing that? Even if you were living in Baghdad?
Do you think these people would protect free speech if they overthrow democracy and establish a fascist state?
There’s an interesting article in the mainstream news today about how Facebook’s crackdown on the “Stop the Steal “posts might hinder the Fed’s riot organizer search. Things are so out of hand now with the media that even the “terrorist” category is being loosely thrown around. Look at Hong Kong for example on how their govt categorizes people vs how the average US. person would over there. Islamic terrorists are obviously bad and evil people, but I’m smart enough to know that without someone putting blinders over my eyes.
For everyone of those examples cited from a right wing view point there can be equal if not more horrific quotes posted from left wing view points including elected liberal leadership.