Amazon Worker Group Calls for Cloud Unit to Drop Parler

(Bloomberg) -- A group representing some Amazon.com Inc. employees has called for the company's cloud unit to cut ties with Parler after reports that the social media network was used by those who planned Wednesday's riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“Enough is enough,” Amazon Employees for Climate Justice posted on Twitter. “We demand Amazon deny Parler services until it removes posts inciting violence, including at the Presidential inauguration. We cannot be complicit in more bloodshed and violent attacks on our democracy.”

The employee activist group had previously pushed Amazon Web Services to stop selling its on-demand computing power and software to the fossil fuel industry, among other critiques of the retail and software giant.

It's unclear how many employees the group represents. Participation in rallies, social media statements and open letters has ranged from dozens of workers to thousands at events held before the Covid-19 pandemic. Amazon last year fired two of the group's leaders for what it said was violation of company policy. The employees say they were terminated for their activism.

Amazon didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the group's post.

Parler, which is popular with extremist groups seeking an alternative to more mainstream social media sites, has come under fire since the storming of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. Alphabet Inc.'s Google removed the Parler app from its Play Store, and Apple Inc. threatened to make a similar move. In its letter to Parler, Apple said those who participated in the riot planned the action in part on the company's services.

Parler's Chief Executive Officer John Matze said on his social network that the company was not to blame for the violence, and that coordination of such actions has no place on social media. “Most people on Parler are non-violent people,” he wrote.