Apple CEO Tim Cook on Sunday said that Parler could return to the App Store if it changes the moderating protocol. Apple had suspended Parler post the US Capitol attack on January 6.

As a mobile application dominated by conservatives – most of them Donald Trump’s supporters– Parler had to see an exit from Google’s Play Store, Apple’s App Store and Amazon as it was held responsible for allowing incitement of violence during the Capitol attacks, AFP reports.

Launched in 2018, Parler operates much like Twitter, with profiles to follow and ‘parleys’ instead of tweets.

Tim Cook went on to say on Fox news that the suspension was justified as the authorities at the tech giant believe that the application is favored by supporters of President Donald Trump and has been used for violence and hate speech.

“We looked at the incitement to violence that was on there, and we don’t consider that free speech and incitement to violence has an intersection,” Cook said.

It was only earlier this week that Parler had filed a lawsuit against Jeff Bezos and co after Amazon Web Services cut off the platform’s access to internet servers. It said that Amazon was violating antitrust laws and acting to help social rival Twitter, which also has banned Trump for language that could incite violence, AFP confirmed.

However, drawing a difference between cutting ties completely and suspending, Cool said, “In Apple’s case, we’ve only suspended them. So, if they get their moderation together, they would be back on the App Store.”

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and many other social media platforms banned Donald Trump after the January 6 attacks. Parler’s popularity shot after the permanent ban handed to the US President. However, describing the Capitol attack, Tim Cook said that it was one of the saddest moments of his life and an attack on the United States’ democracy.

“I felt like I was in some sort of alternate reality. This could not be happening,” he said.

The day Apple suspended downloads for Parler, it was the top downloaded app from the App Store in the US. Google has also banned downloads of the app.

In its early days, the platform attracted a crowd of ultraconservative and even extreme-right users. But more recently, it has signed up many more traditional Republican voices.