John Matze, CEO of social media platform Parler, said in a memo obtained by Fox News on Wednesday that has been terminated by the Board of Directors. He said that he "did not participate in the decision. Parler was pulled from Amazon servers and both Google and Apple's app stores after the Capitol Hill riot on Jan. 6.
A memo, in which Matze announced his termination to staff, read that "On January 29, 2021, the Parler board controlled by Rebekah Mercer decided to immediately terminate my position as CEO of Parler. I did not participate in this decision.
"I understand that those who now control the company have made some communications to employees and other third parties that have unfortunately created confusion and prompted me to make this public statement."
Matze said "Over the past few months, I’ve met constant resistance to my product vision, my strong belief in free speech and my view of how the Parler site should be managed. For example, I advocated for more product stability and what I believe is a more effective approach to content moderation.
"I have worked endless hours and fought constant battles to get the Parler site running but at this point, the future of Parler is no longer in my hands. I want to thank the Parler employees, the people on Parler and Parler supporters for their tireless work and devotion to the company. They are an amazing group of diverse, hardworking and talented individuals and I have the utmost respect for them. Many of them have become my second family.
"After that, I’ll be looking for new opportunities where my technical acumen, vision and the causes I am passionate about will be required and respected. I want to thank all the people of Parler that supported me and the platform. This has been the true American Dream: an idea from a living room to a company of considerable value. I'm not saying goodbye, just so long for now."
Fans of the social media app had been anticipating a return of the platform, as the company tried to rebuild. Matze had said that he had every reason to believe the app would make a return. Parler launched a lawsuit alleging anti-trust violations against Amazon, but a judge in San Francisco threw it out. Some lawmakers said that Parler should be investigated for domestic terrorism.
It was believed by Amazon, Google, and Apple that Parler bore responsibility for the Capitol Hill riot. Politicians, pundits, and owners of other social media platforms had claimed that it was on the Parler platform that the riot was organized. The backlash against the app itself extended to users of the app as well. One woman was fired from her job with a literary agency when the agency was notified by an anonymous user on Twitter that the woman had a Parler account.
It was since discovered that the planning of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol had likely been organized across social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook.
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