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shopify pulls donald trump stores off its platform

AVATAR Jonathan Shieber
Jonathan Shieber
Writer, TechCrunch
January 7, 2021
shopify pulls donald trump stores off its platform

Beyond Facebook, other major technology firms are responding to the events following the disturbances in Washington, D.C. concerning Donald Trump’s online activities.

Shopify, the platform that provided hosting for online stores associated with Trump’s campaign merchandise and the former President’s personal brand, TrumpStore, has now removed both of these online storefronts.

A Shopify representative explained in a statement to TechCrunch, “Shopify does not permit the use of our services to encourage violent behavior. Following recent occurrences, we’ve concluded that the conduct of President Donald J. Trump contravenes our Acceptable Use Policy, which specifically disallows the promotion or backing of entities, groups, or individuals that advocate or justify violence to achieve a political objective.” The statement continued, “Consequently, we have closed stores linked to President Trump.”

The Wall Street Journal initially reported on this development.

This decision represents a shift in the company’s previous stance, which had consistently upheld the right of all customers to utilize the platform and resisted involvement in what CEO Tobias Lütke had described as censorship.

#shopify#donald trump#trump stores#ecommerce#platform ban#online stores

Jonathan Shieber

Jonathan previously held the position of editor with TechCrunch.
Jonathan Shieber