Parler Home Page Reappears With CEO Calling Return ‘Inevitable’

The Parler logo on a laptop computer arranged in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Friday, Dec. 18, 2020. Parler bills itself as a non-biased social network that protects free speech and user data. John Matze, chief executive officer, says the platform saw great growth during the 2020 election as many conservatives moved away from products like Facebook and Twitter. Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Parler, the free-speech social network, reappeared with a statement from its chief executive officer on Monday after the website found a way around the bans that took it offline last week.

“Our return is inevitable due to hard work, and persistence against all odds,” CEO John Matze wrote in a new post. “Despite the threats and harassment not one Parler employee has quit. We are becoming closer and stronger as a team.”

Read More: Parler CEO Goes Into Hiding Blaming Amazon Flak, Death Threats

The site, which became unavailable after Amazon.com Inc. determined it had violated its terms of service, has found a new company willing to host it, Russian-owned DDoS-Guard, technology news site Ars Technica reported earlier, citing security researchers.

Most of the features of the website still appeared to be down early Tuesday, besides statements from Matze and other employees. Members are unable to log in or post messages and the app remains unavailable in the Apple Inc. or Google Play stores.

The domain name Parler.com is now registered with Epik Inc., a website services company based in Sammamish, Washington, according to public records made available by internet regulator Icann. Epik is also the domain registrar for Gab, a less restrictive social networking site popular with the far right.

Read More: Apps Claiming ‘Free Speech’ for Users Vie for Parler’s Place

A representative for DDoS-Guard declined to comment. Epik said in a sprawling statement on its website from Jan. 11 that it’s had “no contact or discussions with Parler in any form.” The statement also addressed propaganda, breakdowns in civil society and editorial malfeasance on the part of “major media owners.”

Parler -- which has less restrictive terms dictating what members can post and was endorsed by some Republican lawmakers and media figures -- was banned from mainstream hosting and app stores after its users were linked to groups supporting rioting at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month.

The company had seen a surge in users as Twitter Inc. and Facebook Inc. banished outgoing President Donald Trump along with users and groups that supported the violence.