Parler LLC v. Amazon Web Services Inc FREEDOM OF SPEECH at risk / Anti-Trust

NATURE OF THE ACTION

1. This is a civil action for injunctive relief, including a temporary
restraining order and preliminary injunctive relief, and damages. Last Month,
Defendant Amazon Web Services, Inc. (“AWS”) and the popular social media
platform Twitter signed a multi-year deal so that AWS could support the daily
delivery of millions of tweets. AWS currently provides that same service to Parler,
a conservative microblogging alternative and competitor to Twitter.

2. When Twitter announced two evenings ago that it was permanently
banning President Trump from its platform, conservative users began to flee
Twitter en masse for Parler. The exodus was so large that the next day, yesterday,
Parler became the number one free app downloaded from Apple’s App Store.

3. Yet last evening, AWS announced that it would suspend Parler’s
account effective Sunday, January 10th, at 11:59 PM PST. And it stated the reason
for the suspension was that AWS was not confident Parler could properly police its
platform regarding content that encourages or incites violence against others.
However, Friday night one of the top trending tweets on Twitter was “Hang Mike
Pence.” But AWS has no plans nor has it made any threats to suspend Twitter’s
account.

4. AWS’s decision to effectively terminate Parler’s account is apparently
motivated by political animus. It is also apparently designed to reduce competition
in the microblogging services market to the benefit of Twitter.

5. Thus, AWS is violating Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act in
combination with Defendant Twitter. AWS is also breaching it contract with
Parler, which requires AWS to provide Parler with a thirty-day notice before
terminating service, rather than the less than thirty-hour notice AWS actually
provided. Finally, AWS is committing intentional interference with prospective
economic advantage given the millions of users expected to sign up in the near
future.

6. This emergency suit seeks a Temporary Restraining Order against
Defendant Amazon Web Services to prevent it from shutting down Parler’s account
at the end of today. Doing so is the equivalent of pulling the plug on a hospital
patient on life support. It will kill Parler’s business—at the very time it is set to
skyrocket.