Kanye West to Buy Social Media App Parler

Woman holding smartphone with Parler logo in front of displayed same logo in this illustration taken May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
Woman holding smartphone with Parler logo in front of displayed same logo in this illustration taken May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
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Kanye West to Buy Social Media App Parler

Woman holding smartphone with Parler logo in front of displayed same logo in this illustration taken May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
Woman holding smartphone with Parler logo in front of displayed same logo in this illustration taken May 17, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

Parlement Technologies, the parent company of social media app Parler, said on Monday that it will be acquired by rapper Kanye West, who legally changed his name to simply Ye last year.

Parler, a popular app among conservatives, said it expects the deal to close during the fourth quarter of 2022. According to Reuters, it did not give a deal value.

"In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves," Ye said in a statement.

Ye's Instagram and Twitter accounts have been restricted before, most recently this month when social media platforms removed his posts that online users condemned as anti-Semitic.

The American rapper had announced in 2020 that he would run for U. President in an apparent challenge to former US President Donald Trump, but later pulled out.

Last month Parler created a new parent company, Parlement Technologies Inc as part of an overhaul.

West last month ended a partnership with apparel company Gap Inc, saying it failed to meet its obligations under the contract.



LinkedIn Hit with 310 million Euro Fine for Data Privacy Violations from Irish Watchdog

The logo for LinkedIn Corporation, a social networking website for people in professional occupations, is pictured in Mountain View, California February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
The logo for LinkedIn Corporation, a social networking website for people in professional occupations, is pictured in Mountain View, California February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
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LinkedIn Hit with 310 million Euro Fine for Data Privacy Violations from Irish Watchdog

The logo for LinkedIn Corporation, a social networking website for people in professional occupations, is pictured in Mountain View, California February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
The logo for LinkedIn Corporation, a social networking website for people in professional occupations, is pictured in Mountain View, California February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

European Union regulators slapped LinkedIn on Thursday with a 310 million euro ($335 million) fine for violations of the bloc's stringent data privacy rules.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission reprimanded the Microsoft-owned professional social networking site over concerns about the “lawfulness, fairness and transparency” of its personal data processing for advertising purposes, according to The AP.

The Dublin-based watchdog is LinkedIn's lead privacy regulator in the 27-nation EU because that's where the company's European headquarters is based.

The watchdog said it carried out an investigation that found LinkedIn did not have a lawful basis to gather data so it could target users with online ads, which is a breach of the privacy rules known as General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. It ordered LinkedIn to comply with the rules.

Processing personal data “without an appropriate legal basis is a clear and serious violation” of the right to data protection in the EU, Deputy Commissioner Graham Doyle said in a statement.

LinkedIn said it that while it believes it has been “in compliance” with the rules, it's working to ensure its “ad practices” meet the requirements.