Parler is the right starting their own company in response to Twitter censoring/banning some of their discussions. Parler's current deplatforming indicates that "start your own company so you're the governor" is a borderline unrealistic point of view, since the internet and especially mobile phones are run by mega-corporations that don't support an open platform.
If we look at Parler being dependent on other companies, there are 3 dependencies that bit them in the last few days:
(A) running servers on AWS
(B) distributing Android app through Google Play Store
(C) distributing iPhone app through Apple Store
Parler could and should have avoided the dependency on AWS by hosting with a company more aligned with their views or outside of the US.
However, I cannot in good faith say "Parler should have written their own mobile OS if they want people to use their platform from their phones". I believe Android supports app installation without Google Play. It's a little inconvenient, but I think an extra minute or two of clicking around is an ok price to pay for access to unpopular speech.
However, as far as I know there's no way to have an app on iPhones without Apple's approval. This is a strong point for "even if you start your own company, you're not the governor - 45% of America's phone users can only access your service at the mercy of Apple".
If we look at Parler being dependent on other companies, there are 3 dependencies that bit them in the last few days:
(A) running servers on AWS
(B) distributing Android app through Google Play Store
(C) distributing iPhone app through Apple Store
Parler could and should have avoided the dependency on AWS by hosting with a company more aligned with their views or outside of the US.
However, I cannot in good faith say "Parler should have written their own mobile OS if they want people to use their platform from their phones". I believe Android supports app installation without Google Play. It's a little inconvenient, but I think an extra minute or two of clicking around is an ok price to pay for access to unpopular speech.
However, as far as I know there's no way to have an app on iPhones without Apple's approval. This is a strong point for "even if you start your own company, you're not the governor - 45% of America's phone users can only access your service at the mercy of Apple".