Kanye West to buy right-wing social-media platform Parler, owner says

• Kanye West has entered into a deal to buy Parler, the right-wing social-media platform.
• Parler describes itself as a "free speech platform."

Kanye West has entered into a deal to buy Parler, a right-wing social-media service that bills itself as a "free speech platform," its owner said Monday.

Parlement Technologies announced the news via a press release, saying that the deal would help create "an uncancelable ecosystem where all voices are welcome."

Quoted in the press release, West said: "In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves."

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Parlement Technologies CEO George Farmer said the company would be "honored to help him achieve his goals."

The acquisition comes after a series of controversies involving West.

The rapper-turned-businessman has faced criticism for wearing a "White Lives Matter" t-shirt and making a number of antisemitic comments.

West was recently locked out of his Twitter account after he posted saying he would go "death con 3" on Jewish people.

Parler styles itself as a "global free speech platform," and is known for having less strict content moderating policies than other social-media platforms.

Parler came under fire during the January 6 Capitol riots when some users took to the social-media platform to cheer on the protestors and call for more violence. After the riots, Amazon Web Services removed Parler from its web hosting service, and the platform was also banned from Apple and Google's app stores.

Parler's former CEO, John Matze, sued the company in March 2021, accusing it of "theft" of his 40% ownership stake. Matze claimed that the company ousted him after he proposed stricter content moderation.