Parler CEO optimistic about social network's full return by 'end of the month'

Parler CEO John Matze believes that the "free speech" alternative social network will soon be fully operational again, telling Fox News on Sunday about several steps the website is taking to return after being booted offline by Amazon Web Services.

Earlier Sunday, Parler's website partially relaunched after the company registered its domain and server with Epik, an internet solutions company that also hosts Gab, another Twitter alternative. However, the full functionality of Parler is not yet restored. The website currently shows only a single page with a message to "lovers and haters" about why privacy and free speech are essential for social media.

Matze told Fox News of several positive developments that make him "confident" of Parler's eventual return.

"I'm confident that by the end of the month, we'll be back up," he said.

Days after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, Amazon Web Services shut Parler down, claiming that the website's refusal to moderate "egregious content" had contributed to the violence that took place that day. In response, Parler is suing Amazon for antitrust violations, breach of contract, and unlawful business interference. Matze has previously said the de-platforming of Parler by big tech companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google is unconstitutional and that he's received death threats since the controversy began. He's also said that several other vendors contacted by Parler had refused to host the website before the company registered its domain with Epik.

"Every day it changes wildly, but I feel confident now," Matze said. "We're making significant progress. When you go into Parler.com it doesn't go into the void now, it hits a server, and it returns just one piece of information."

Matze said that on Friday Parler was able to recover its data from Amazon, a necessary step to be able to restore the website's former functionality.

"Now we can actually rebuild Parler," Matze said. "It's critically important."

In the coming days, Parler's website will give former users progress reports as the company rebuilds its social network.

"We're going to be putting periodic updates there," Matze explained. "We're going to try to get an update out every day … so that people can stay up to date with the site."

Matze is optimistic about Parler's future, praising his team for their hard work and dedication to the company's mission.

"Despite all of this, we haven't even had one employee quit," Matze said. "Not one, even with them being harassed and threatened, no one has quit … we've got such a strong team, this has just made them believe in us more."