Kanye West agrees to buy right-wing platform Parler
18 October, 2022
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, has agreed to buy the self-styled "uncancellable" social-media platform Parler, the company has announced.
Last week, the star's Twitter and Instagram accounts were locked, after he posted anti-Semitic messages.
Parler is used mainly by US conservatives, and describes itself as a "free speech" alternative to mainstream platforms.
Ye "will never have to fear being removed from social media again", chief executive George Farmer posted.
'Express ourselves'
The announcement, on PR Newswire reveals little about the terms of the deal.
It says: "Under the terms of their agreement in principle, the parties intend to enter into a definitive purchase agreement and expect to close during the fourth quarter of 2022." The deal will include "ongoing technical support" from the company, it adds. Parler has struggled to remain relevant in recent months, after an explosion in growth after the US elections in 2020. According to Sensor Tower, the app was downloaded 90,000 times last month globally, compared to 9 million downloads for Twitter.
BBC News has asked Parler for more information about the "agreement in principle".
Ye - who changed his name in 2021 - wrote: "In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial, we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves."
Ye had his Instagram account suspended after accusing rapper Diddy of being controlled by Jewish people.
He responded to his suspension by re-joining Twitter and tweeting he would go "death con three on Jewish people", earning him a second disbarment.
Nashville, Tennessee-based Parler, which was founded in 2018, says it has 15 million registered users.
It's one of a number of apps that have targeted conservative users including Truth Social, the platform backed by Donald Trump.
According to the Financial Times in September, its parent company Parlement Technologies announced it had raised $16m (£14m) in funding, taking the total to $56m.
Many mainstream US conservative figures, including politicians and broadcasters, have accounts.
But the app has also attracted US far-right groups thrown off other platforms.
Following the storming of the US Capitol buildings on the 6 January 2021, Google and Apple's app stores and Amazon's web-hosting service suspended the platform for failing to police content that encouraged or incited violence.
And it was revealed that some rioters had posted videos and pictures of themselves breaking into the Capitol to Parler.
But the platform was eventually reinstated to the app stores after changes in leadership and its moderation policy.
Source: www.bbc.com