Parler is suing Amazon Web Services (AWS) over its decision to suspend the social media platform.

The tech giant, which up until Sunday supported the microblogging website with its cloud computing service, suspended the account after it found posts encouraging violence.

Amazon found posts on Parler, which describes itself as an alternative and competitor to Twitter, calling for the killing of democrats, Muslims, Black Lives Matter leaders, and mainstream media journalists.

In a letter to Parler’s chief policy officer Amy Peikoff, AWS’ Trust & Safety Team said that it had reported 98 posts that “clearly encourage and incite violence” over the past couple of weeks.

Amazon's cloud services division said that “given the unfortunate events that transpired this past week in Washington, D.C., there is serious risk that this type of content will further incite violence.”

The tech business said that it has seen a steady increase in violent content on Parler and that the platform does not currently have an effective process to comply with the company’s terms of service.

It added that although the site had removed some violent content when contacted by Amazon or others, it did not always do so with urgency.

Parler said that the decision to terminate its account was “motivated by political animus.”

The social media site also suggested the move was designed to “reduce competition in the microblogging services market to the benefit of Twitter,” which it said is violating a US Antitrust Act.

It also accused Amazon of breaching its contract, which it said requires AWS to provide 30 days’ notice before terminating its service.

According to the alternative microblogging site, when Twitter blocked Trump last week, conservative users began to “flee Twitter en masse” to join the alternative platform, adding that “the exodus was so large that the next day… Parler became the number one free app downloaded from Apple’s App Store.”

But Apple has since banned the platform from its app store.

At the weekend Parler’s chief executive John Matze told Fox News that every vendor from text message services to email providers to lawyers had “ditched” the site.

He added: “We’re going to try our best to get back online as quickly as possible, but we're having a lot of trouble because every vendor we talk to says they won't work with us because if Apple doesn't approve and Google doesn't approve, they won't.”

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