Shopify Inc. has tightened its regulations on “hateful content” as sellers have been using its popular e-commerce platform to offer racist merchandise, approximately a year after lifting a similar prohibition. An updated help page outlining the types of products that are not allowed on its app and payment system, Shop, has been revised since May to include a ban on “products that promote hateful content, violence, gore, profanity, or offensive content,” based on archived versions of the site analyzed by Bloomberg News.
This marks a reversal of policy for Canada’s top technology firm. Last July, Shopify eliminated a ban on hateful content from its acceptable use policy. Although that prohibition hasn’t been reinstated, new regulations have been implemented for merchants utilizing its Shop sales channel, which has “additional prohibited product types,” as indicated on the website.
In November, Bloomberg disclosed that a Shopify-hosted store was offering merchandise that denied the Holocaust following a recent change in policy. On Monday, the website for that retailer directed users to a page indicating that the store was no longer accessible. Nevertheless, as of Monday, other Shopify pages were still active, selling items featuring Nazi, racist, sexist, and other discriminatory imagery.
Shopify did not reply to inquiries for comment.
Tobi Lutke, the founder and CEO of Shopify, expressed his “free speech” philosophy for the company in an essay published in 2017.
In February, rapper Kanye West, who goes by Ye, exploited Shopify’s platform to market shirts featuring a swastika. The company removed his store after significant public backlash, stating that the decision was made due to non-compliance with “authentic commerce practices.”
Earlier this month, Shopify briefly held the title of Canada’s most valuable publicly traded company, although it has since been overtaken by the Royal Bank of Canada. Its market capitalization currently stands at approximately C$252 billion ($182 billion).
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