Microsoft Threatens to Pull Gab Services Over Anti-Semitic Posts

Microsoft Threatens to Pull Gab Services Over Anti-Semitic Posts
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Microsoft threatened to suspend web-hosting services it provides to Gab.ai after getting a complaint about anti-Semitic posts on the social-media site, according to Bloomberg.

Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing division said it would take action in two business days if Gab didn’t remove two posts that prompted the complaint about "malicious activity," according to a post by Gab.

"We have concluded that this content incites violence, is not protected by the First Amendment, and violates Microsoft Azure’s acceptable use policy," the software maker said. "Our policies rightly prohibit this type of content, and we expect Gab.ai to abide by these policies if it wishes to use our service. Gab.ai is of course free to choose otherwise and work with another cloud service provider or host this content itself.

If Gab chooses other providers, Microsoft said it will give the site "a reasonable amount of time, in this instance longer than 48 hours," to move content elsewhere before its access to Azure cloud services is terminated. Gab declined to comment beyond its public post.

The action shows how the tech industry’s efforts to tackle hate speech online is extending beyond big social-media services like Facebook and YouTube to cloud-computing companies that provide web-hosting services to smaller sites. Some of those smaller sites can gain traffic by welcoming users who have been kicked off larger platforms.