Parler-Amazon rift fuels politicisation of IT services
Emerald expert briefings · 2021
Significance US-based hosting provider Epik and Russia-based DDoS-Guard seem to have acquired contracts to provide hosting services for Parler, whose website currently displays a holding message stating an intention to return. The episode spotlights infrastructure providers hosting websites which carry illicit or politically controversial content and which are often targeted for takedown by law enforcement and larger corporates. Impacts Mid-stack services providers could be sued for damages by customers whose contracts are terminated or by victims of crime. International cooperation to take down 'bulletproof' hosts will be hard to secure when geostrategic rivalries are at play. Mainstream technology providers face rising reputational costs for hosting or removing politically controversial content.