Parler CEO ‘confident’ platform will return by end of month

Parler's chief executive officer is "confident" that the social media platform will be back online in the near future.

"I'm confident that by the end of the month, we'll be back up," Parler CEO John Matze told Fox News during an exclusive telephone interview on Sunday night.

The announcement comes after a series of positive developments. Parler's developers were able to recover the company's data over the weekend. "Now we can actually rebuild Parler," Matze persisted. "It's critically important."

"Every day it changes wildly, but I feel confident now," Matze said. "We're making significant progress. When you go into Parler.com, it doesn't go into the void now. It hits a server and it returns just one piece of information." Parler registered its domain with host-sharing website Epik last week.

One week after Parler lost access to Amazon's hosting servers, the website returned in limited form. If users visit the site today, they'll read Matze's message published at the top of the page: "Hello world, is this thing on?"

"Now seems like the right time to remind you all—both lovers and haters—why we started this platform. We believe privacy is paramount and free speech essential, especially on social media," the "Technical Difficulties" memo reads. "Our aim has always been to provide a nonpartisan public square where individuals can enjoy and exercise their rights to both."

The first update when the simple static site was launched signaled hope amid Big Tech's censorship rampage. "We will resolve any challenge before us and plan to welcome all of you back soon," a follow-up statement declares.

Matze called the means to post a "big milestone." Parler's ability to inform the public firsthand is vital to the besieged company that is under constant attack from establishment-aligned critics.

"We’re going to be putting periodic updates there," Matze noted, vowing to try to upload an update "every day" so that users can stay up to date with the site.

Parler went offline last Sunday when Amazon suspended the company’s access to its hosting services for violating the provider's terms of service and Parler's failure to moderate "egregious content" related to the Capitol Hill riot.

That same weekend, tech tyrants Google and Apple removed Parler's app from their respective marketplaces. The latter first threatened to ban unless Parler adhered to stipulated practices.

The enforcement actions alleged that Trump supporters and far-right extremists used Parler to organize Jan. 6th's storming of the Capitol building that left five dead in the aftermath.

Getting back online is just one of the challenges Parler is facing before the free speech alternative to Twitter can be fully up and running again. Sideloading is an option on Android, but that's not viable distribution of the mobile app.

Without access to the App Store and Google Play, Parler users won't have an easy way to install the software on their phones unless developers play by the rules outlined by the Internet oligarchs.

Parler is suing Amazon for its decision to sever ties, claiming the move is "motivated by political animus." The plaintiff alleged breach of contract, unlawful business interference, and antitrust violations. Amazon had nothing to do with Parler's resurfacing as Matze's team independently worked to revive the page."Now we can actually rebuild Parler," Matze said. "It’s critically important."

Matze explained that recent headlines indicating Parler might "never" return that circulated last week were the result of one lengthy Reuters interview when the then-frustrated Parler leader was asked about the timeframe for resurrection.

While Matze did suggest the site could be finished forever, he rebutted, explaining the pessimistic moment was just one downtrodden instance that the mainstream media ran with.

The recent progress has changed Matze's tone over the past 72 hours. Matze was upbeat and positive on Sunday, eager to recount how his staffers have stood by him throughout the chaos of the past two weeks.

"Despite all of this, we haven't even had one employee quit," Matze insisted. "Not one—even with them being harassed and threatened—no one has quit." He praised his strong assembly and maintained that the hardship has "just made them believe in us more."

While Parler is positioned as nonpartisan, the townsquare became the high-profile refuge for supporters of President Donald Trump, conservatives, Republican pundits, and free speech absolutists who have been booted from social networks. The removals began with Trump's permanent ban and the purge still rages on.

Matze hopes to keep Parler's vendors anonymous moving forward so they're not under fire from the liberal activists seeking to silence the resistance.