Squarespace says it will begin dropping some websites from its service, apparently following in the footsteps of several tech companies that have distanced themselves from organizations that produce racist and white supremacist content.
Squarespace says it’s removing ‘a group of sites’ as internet cracks down on hate speech
Squarespace declined to say which websites it will stop working with
“In light of recent events, we have made the decision to remove a group of sites from our platform,” a Squarespace spokesperson told The Verge. “We have given the site owners 48 hours’ notice.”
Squarespace refused to clarify which websites it had targeted, as well as when, exactly, it gave them the 48 hours’ notice. But the website-building service provides websites for groups including the National Policy Institute, a far-right “think tank” where alt-right personality Richard Spencer is president and director. In April, Vocativ noted other white nationalist groups such as Identity Europa and the Foundation for the Marketplace of Ideas also host their websites on Squarespace. The sites apparently violate Squarespace’s stated policy, which forbids advocating for “bigotry or hatred.”
The company did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
Following the killing of a protestor in Charlottesville, multiple companies have reassessed their working agreements with hate groups. GoDaddy, and later Google, denied domain registration for the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer. Facebook is blocking links to a Stormer article that personally attacks the victim, Heather Heyer. Meanwhile, Twitter has suspended the site’s account.
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