Caymans Post

A world within. A state apart.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Sacked Parler Founder Sues 'Free Speech' Network for Millions Over 'Orchestrated Theft' of Stake

Sacked Parler Founder Sues 'Free Speech' Network for Millions Over 'Orchestrated Theft' of Stake

The CEO of conservative social network Parler, John Matze, claimed co-founder and GOP hedge fund heiress Rebekah Mercer fired him for cracking down on violent extremism and "domestic terrorists" after the site and app were taken down. The site is back up since his sacking in January, after reducing its exposure to actions by rivals in big tech.

The co-founder and former CEO of conservative social network Parler is suing the firm for millions of dollars over his sacking, after rivals in big tech took the site offline in January.

John Matze, a resident of Henderson, Nevada, where the "free speech" site was founded in 2018, filed a lawsuit at Clark County District Court on Monday, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

Matze is seeking “millions in compensatory” damages for what he calls was an “orchestrated theft” of his 40 percent stake in the firm — and accuses a cofounder of trying to turn the site, popular with conservatives, into a 'spearhead' for extremism and "domestic terrorists".

“This outlandish and arrogant theft, which occurred in Nevada, is the product of a conspiratorial agreement and actions taken both inside and outside of Nevada, that include intimidating threats and defamatory accusations of misconduct all designed to bully and deprive Matze of his valuable personal property and legal rights,” his lawsuit claims.

Parler briefly became the most-downloaded mobile device app, after Twitter permanently suspended former US President Donald Trump from the network in January, claiming that incited violence in posts to his 88 million followers. Google and Apple promptly banned the app from their online download services, while Amazon — from which Parler rented server space — evicted the site and app from its virtual premises.

Matze's lawsuit alleges that fellow co-founder Rebekah Mercer, the daughter of billionaire right wing hedge fund manager Robert Mercer, sacked him for Parler's take-down by the larger tech companies.

Matze “was abruptly ousted in violation of the law and public policy for endeavouring to preserve Parler’s commitment to free expression while combating any misuse by violent extremists and domestic terrorists in the wake of the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol," it reads.

"Rather than protect Parler, its other owner, Rebekah Mercer, sought to co-opt it as a symbol or as the ‘tip of the spear’ for her brand of conservatism, and plotted to force Matze out as CEO, manager, and member, and steal his forty percent (40%) ownership interest."

The staunchly Republican Mercer family also invested in conservative 'alt-right' news website Breitbart, whose editor, Steve Bannon, briefly worked as a White House advisor to Trump. The family also worked closely with British political marketing firm Cambridge Analytica.

Unlike its big-league rivals, Facebook and Twitter, Parler claims that it does not aggressively censor user posts or ban users for offending others. Parler has long been accused of being a haven for conspiracy theorists, domestic terrorists, extremists and racists.

Telegram saw a massive surge in popularity in January after US rival WhatsApp's owner, Facebook, announced users must consent to sharing data with other apps if they want to continue to use its services. A Washington DC-based lobbying group, the Coalition for a Safer Web, promptly sued Apple in a bid to force it to ban Telegram also, claiming some users were sending "neo-Nazi" and "racist" messages.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Caymans Post
0:00
0:00
Close
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Italian Court's Controversial Ruling on Sexual Harassment Ignites Uproar
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
BBC Personalities Rebuke Accusations Amidst Scandal Involving Teen Exploitation
A Swift Disappointment: Why Is Taylor Swift Bypassing Canada on Her Global Tour?
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
Unilever Plummets in a $2.5 Billion Free Fall, to begin with: A Reckoning for Misuse of Corporate Power Against National Interest
Beyond the Blame Game: The Need for Nuanced Perspectives on America's Complex Reality
Twitter Targets Meta: A Tangle of Trade Secrets and Copycat Culture
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
×