Rep. Nunes Calls for Racketeering Investigation on Apple, Amazon, Google for Parler Ban

By Dana Cruz First Posted: Jan 11, 2021 05:46 AM EST

(Photo : Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
Rep. Devin Nunes

California Rep. Devin Nunes said on Sunday that federal authorities should start an investigation on Apple, Amazon and Google for racketeering after the tech companies imposed a Parler ban.

The Parler ban was done by the tech giants after they said the app, which is popular among right-wing users, was not doing enough to moderate talks about violence, reported Newsmax.

Prior to the Parler ban, the social network branded itself as a "free speech app" in place of Twitter and Facebook.

Since Amazon cut ties with them, Parler will be temporarily down until a new hosting service takes them in, reported BBC.

Talking to Fox News, Nunes called on the Department of Justice and the FBI to act on the Parler ban.

"This is clearly a violation of anti-trust, civil rights, the RICO statute," Nunes said. "There should be a racketeering investigation on all the people that coordinated this attack on not only a company, but on all of those like us."

He was making a reference to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law, that was used by federal prosecutors to disband organized crime syndicates, noted a Newsweek report.

Nunes Said Parler Ban Blocks 'Very, Very Safe Platform'

Also during the Fox News interview, Nunes talked about his experiences in using Parler.

He said that with the app's temporary shutdown, he will no longer to able to communicate with his three million Parler followers.

He also labelled other social media sites as "fake" and touted Parler for allowing its users to get certified. "There's a number, it's actually a very, very safe platform," he said.

Nunes also said that if someone did break the law on the app, the FBI can subpoena to find out who was responsible for the illegal activity.

For Nunes, the Parler ban prevents people from using a "free and open social media company or site for any American to get on" and also "destroyed" the right-wing heavy site.

Amazon, Google and Apple's ban on the Parler app was made after President Donald Trump was suspended from his personal Twitter account due to "the risk of further incitement of violence" following Wednesday's Capitol riot.

The DOJ and FBI did not offer immediate comment on Nunes' calls.

Social Network Sites Demand Changes Before Lifting Parler Ban

The three tech companies reiterated that they found that the app was in violation of their terms of service and argued that their choice to impose a Parler ban was within the parameters of freedom of speech.

Hours before Amazon reportedly planned to suspend Parler from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) it said the app did not effectively deal with a steady increase of violent content.

Screenshots were taken from the app showing user posts that openly discussed violence at the rally prior to the Capitol riot. Some discussed bringing weapons and how they could be used on political opponents.

The app was also booted of the Google and Apple App Stores for the same reasons.

Until Parler made adequate measures to address this, they will stay off the said App Stores. However, it may still be available in other android app stores.