Parler Goes Offline as Mobile App Economy Hits Record Numbers
The mobile app industry experiences record growth in 2020, while major tech platforms simultaneously remove Parler from their stores and cut off backend support.
The mobile app industry experiences unprecedented growth as consumers download a record 218 billion apps and spend $143 billion globally in 2020. Average Americans now spend four hours per day on their mobile devices, officially surpassing the 3.7 hours they spend watching live TV. Investors recognize this massive shift, pouring $73 billion into mobile companies last year, which represents a 27 percent increase from the previous year.
Amid this booming economy, Google and Apple remove Parler from their app stores following the Capitol riot because the platform fails to implement adequate moderation to address threats of violence. The deplatforming extends far beyond the app stores, as Amazon AWS, Stripe, and other technology vendors completely sever ties with the social network. This total loss of backend support effectively takes Parler offline and potentially ends its ability to operate.
Even though Parler is offline, its user data remains highly accessible and serves as a valuable resource for investigators. Internet archivists quickly scrape the platform's data before it disappears, revealing that Parler stores rich metadata, including precise GPS locations, with every user post. Journalists and developers use this location data to map thousands of videos directly to the areas around the Capitol building, providing law enforcement with a digital gold mine of evidence.