Tech firms scrub Confederate flag listings
The Hill - Overnight Tech
LEDE: A trio of e-commerce companies on Tuesday rushed to scrub sales listings of the Confederate flag.
Amazon, one of the largest online sales companies in the world, confirmed Tuesday it would begin pulling down Confederate flag merchandise. The announcement came hours after eBay announced the same decision, releasing a blunt statement that said the flag had become a "symbol of divisiveness and racism." Etsy also said it was removing those listings, consistent with its ban on items that "promote, support or glorify hatred."
The trend follows brick and mortar retailers, like Walmart and Sears, who took similar steps. The difference is that while companies like Walmart sold the products, e-commerce sites for the most part list items from third-party sellers. Amazon saw sales of Confederate flag merchandise spike in recent days.
A major sea change on the issue has taken place in the last few days, following the shooting deaths of nine people at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C. Numerous photos of the accused shooter show him holding the flag, which many see as a symbol of racism. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) on Monday said she would press the state legislature to remove the flag from a memorial on state grounds.
Others in the tech industry -- like the chief executives of Apple and Salesforce -- had previously expressed displeasure with the symbol.
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