Nunes Calls for RICO Probe Into Big Tech Companies Following Parler Ban, Graham Backs 230 Reform; Parler Files Lawsuit Against Amazon
According to reports, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is calling for a racketeering probe after Amazon cut off the conservative social network Parler from its cloud hosting service Amazon Web Services, as well as Google and Apple banning the Parler app from their respective stores.
While being interviewed on “Sunday Morning Futures,” Nunes told host Maria Bartiromo that Amazon, Apple and Google banning Parler was a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, a federal law used to combat organized crime that allows prosecution and civil penalties for racketeering activity performed as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise. He also claimed that antitrust and civil rights laws were violated by the big tech trio.
Nunes called for an investigation into the three companies, and bemoaned the lack of response so far from federal prosecutors.
“I don’t know where the hell the Department of Justice is at right now or the FBI,” Nunes said. “There should be a racketeering investigation on all the people that coordinated this attack on not only a company, but on all of those like us. I have three million followers on Parler. Tonight I will no longer be able to communicate with those people and they’re Americans.”
The reasoning cited by Amazon, Apple, and Google for their moves to ban Parler is based on the fallout from last week’s deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol building, which reports indicate was allegedly plotted in-part utilizing social media services such as Parler. In addition, Amazon officials have noted that repeated instances of “dangerous and harmful” content on the Parler website and the lack of acceptable moderation of that content were in violation of their Terms of Service.
Parler’s chief executive John Matze noted that Parler could be offline for up to a week while they “rebuild from scratch.” Meanwhile, Parler announced a lawsuit against Amazon on Monday.
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