The area and internet hosting service firm Epik had no contact with Parler after beginning AWS

Epik founder and CEO Robert Monster. (DigitalTown photo)

Seattle area web services company Epik said it had no communication with Parler, the social media platform, in the spotlight after the riot at the US Capitol last week.

Amazon Web Services announced Saturday that Parler would be suspended on Sunday before midnight, citing a violation of its Terms of Use due to incidents of violence on the platform.

When you boot from AWS, Parler goes offline and the site needs to find a new hosting service.

In a detailed statement on Epik’s website, the company said, “You have not received a communication to discuss future service delivery.”

Founded in 2009, Epik is known for hosting websites that were previously blocked by other providers. In 2018, it hosted Gab.com, the website retired by GoDaddy and other companies after the Pittsburgh synagogue was shot down.

Epik is reversing course: The Seattle area web services company will no longer host 8chan after filming

Epik also temporarily helped 8chan get back online in 2019 after the site was linked to right-wing extremism and linked to mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, but changed course two days later.

In his statement, Epik doesn’t say if it’s open to partnering with Parler in the future. Calling the “staggering size of Twitter and Facebook,” the company said it had “been closely watching the battle between oversized monopolies and smaller platforms”.

“The idea that big tech has pushed for centralized control over all future narrative is very real,” writes Robert Davis, senior vice president of communications.

Parler has become popular in recent months as an alternative to Facebook and Twitter, both of which President Trump banned last week after Wednesday’s US Capitol uprising.

Apple and Google have removed Parler from their respective app stores in the past few days. Apple received complaints that Parler was being used to plan and coordinate the Capitol riot, BuzzFeed reported.

Parler’s CEO said Sunday that other companies are also no longer working with the social media company. Other major platforms like Stripe and Snapchat have restricted or restricted Trump-related accounts.

Epik hit the headlines last October after GoDaddy and PayPal severed ties with Epik.

The company is led by founder and CEO Robert Monster, a seasoned tech manager who previously founded Global Market Insite, which was acquired by Kantar in 2011.

In 2018, Monster defended its decision to host Gab.com in a blog post that included the line, “De-platforming is digital censorship.”

“De-platforming an oasis of free speech is not about left or right,” wrote Monster.