Following the events of Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend, several tech companies are disabling services for websites that sell white supremacist merchandise. In this case, Apple is disabling its Apple Pay payment system on website that sell white supremacist merchandise, according to a report from BuzzFeed News.
Website including AmericanViking.com and VinlandClothing.com have been found in violation of Apple’s “acceptable use guidelines.” The third found website called Behold Barbarity has already gone offline. In the AUG from Apple Pay use, they prohibit the payment system to be used on websites that promote “hate, violence, or intolerance based on race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.”
The owner of AmericanVikings, a “pro-white” individual named Brien James told BuzzFeed that he wasn’t even aware of the Apple Pay integration and didn’t really seem upset by the decision from Apple.
While Apple has taken a stance, there are several other companies moving in the same direction. Discover told BuzzFeed that “In light of recent events, we are terminating merchant agreements with hate groups, given the violence incited by their extremist views.” In addition to Discover, Paypal and Stripe, the two leading web payment processors online, are also disabling their services for the same reasons.
