New York (AFP)

Tech giants Amazon, Apple and Google have decided to cut ties with Donald Trump's popular social network Parler, threatening to kick him off the internet just as his footfall soared.

The Big Three accuse the platform of continuing to relay messages of incitement to violence after fans of the president stormed the Capitol on Wednesday.

If Parler does not find partners willing to host its data by 08:00 GMT Monday, when Amazon ceases its services, its site will no longer be able to function.

In the aftermath of Twitter's decision to permanently delete Donald Trump's account, Parler was still the most downloaded application in the United States on the Apple platform on Saturday.

Launched in 2018, the social network works a bit like Twitter, with profiles to follow and "parlys" instead of tweets.

Freedom of expression is its leitmotif.

Based in Henderson, Nevada, Parler was started by John Matze, a computer engineer, and Rebekah Mercer, a major donor to the Republican Party.

The platform attracted especially in its beginnings ultra-conservative mire, even far-right.

But it is now welcoming more traditional Republican voices.

Fox News star Sean Hannity has 7.6 million subscribers;

his colleague Tucker Carlson has 4.4 million.

Republican politicians such as parliamentarian Devin Nunes and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem are also present.

Already in full swing, the application has welcomed in recent days many new subscribers ulcerated by Twitter's decision to ban Donald Trump.

Other mainstream networks like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Twitch have also suspended the profile of the tenant of the White House.

Many fans of the US president have flocked to conservative platforms like Parler or Gab.

The success drew attention and Google has, as of Friday evening, decided to withdraw Parler from its platform for downloading applications because of the presence of messages "inciting violence" and an overly lax moderation policy.

Apple followed suit on Saturday night.

While these decisions made life more complicated for Parler, they did not prevent it from functioning: subscribers who already have the application can still access it while newcomers can use roundabout ways to install it on their devices or go to Internet.

- Dropped by his lawyers -

However, Amazon's decision directly threatens the presence of Parler online.

And his boss is not very optimistic.

"All of our partners, those who handle the texts, the emails, our lawyers, let us down the same day," John Matze said in an interview on Fox News on Sunday.

"We will do everything we can to get back online as quickly as possible but all the suppliers we contact tell us that they do not want to work with us if Apple or Google does not approve," he said. he explains.

And it is difficult to find "300 to 500 computer servers in 24 hours".

Now that the tech giants have made it clear that they will crack down on sites and apps that continue to relay extreme messages, conservative social media are likely to have to adjust.

The live video service DLive, used by several protesters during the Capitol invasion on Wednesday, has banned seven channels and removed more than 100 videos from its site.

Some might choose to do as another popular ultra-conservative social network, Gab.

The platform was particularly controversial in 2018, when it was discovered that the author of a shooting which had killed 11 in a synagogue in Pittsburgh had posted many anti-Semitic messages there.

Already junk at Apple and Google, Gab has set up his own servers so as not to depend on outside companies.

© 2021 AFP