Case 2:21-cv-00031-BJR Document 34 Filed 01/21/21 Page 2 of 14
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interference with business expectancy. AWS disputes all three claims, asserting that it is Parler,
not AWS, that has violated the terms of the parties’ Agreement, and in particular AWS’s
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Acceptable Use Policy, which prohibits the “illegal, harmful, or offensive” use of AWS services.
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It is important to note what this case is not about. Parler is not asserting a violation of any
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First Amendment rights, which exist only against a governmental entity, and not against a private
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company like AWS. And indeed, Parler has not disputed that at least some of the abusive and
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violent posts that gave rise to the issues in this case violate AWS’s Acceptable Use Policy. This
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motion also does not ask the Court to make a final ruling on the merits of Parler’s claims. As a
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motion for a preliminary injunction, before any discovery has been conducted, Parler seeks only
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to have the Court determine the likelihood that Parler will ultimately prevail on its claims, and to
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order AWS to restore service to Parler pending a full and fair litigation of the issues raised in the
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Complaint. Having reviewed the briefs filed in support of and opposition to the motion, and
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having heard oral argument by videoconference, the Court finds and rules as follows.
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II.
BACKGROUND
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Parler was founded in 2018, and describes itself as “a conservative microblogging
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alternative and competitor to Twitter.” Compl., ¶ 1. Parler—like Twitter, Facebook, and other
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social media entities referenced in this action—is an online platform that allows third-party
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users, sometimes anonymously, to express thoughts and ideas for other users to read and
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comment on. Parler takes a laissez faire or “reactive” approach to moderation of its users’
speech. See, e.g., Parler’s December 4, 2020 Community Guidelines, Decl. of Ambika Doran,
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Ex. B (“We prefer that removing community members or member-provided content be kept to
the absolute minimum.”). At the time of the filing of its Complaint, Parler claims to have had 15
million end-user accounts and a million downloads of its app per day. Decl. of John Matze, ¶ 3.
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