Facebook, AT&T, USTelecom, Google Limit Political Contributions After Riot

Facebook, AT&T, Google, Microsoft, Intel and Airbnb said they’re limiting political contributions after Wednesday’s deadly riot at the Capitol. Also Monday, Amazon Web Services was hit with an antitrust lawsuit from Parler after AWS stopped hosting the social media service, which is popular with conservatives. The Computer & Communication Industry Association supported platforms’ right to suspend certain accounts involved “in the incitement of violence,” including President Donald Trump's. See here for our news bulletin on Twitter permanently yanking Trump's account Friday.

Employees on AT&T’s Federal PAC Board decided during a call Monday to “suspend contributions to members of Congress who voted to object to the certification of Electoral College votes last week,” a company spokesperson emailed. USTelecom will pause political contributions “while we assess these troubling developments and their implications,” said CEO Jonathan Spalter of "the tragic and horrifying events last week in Washington." The association and its "members share a common mission: creating opportunity and connecting communities everywhere,” he wrote.

Google has “frozen all NetPAC political contributions while we review and reassess its policies following last week’s deeply troubling events,” a company spokesperson emailed. Facebook will limit its political action committee contributions, its spokesperson emailed: “Following last week’s awful violence in DC, we are pausing all of our PAC contributions for at least the current quarter, while we review our policies.”

Intel’s PAC “continuously reevaluates its contributions to candidates to ensure that they align with our values, policies and priorities,” a spokesperson emailed. “While Intel's PAC will continue bipartisan contributions, we will not contribute to members of Congress who voted against certification of the Electoral College results as we feel that action was counter to our company's values.” Microsoft’s PAC decided Friday it won’t “make any political donations until after it assesses the implications of last week’s events,” a company spokesperson emailed Monday. The PAC “regularly pauses its donations in the first quarter of a new Congress, but it will take additional steps this year to consider these recent events and consult with employees.”

Airbnb will “update its framework and withhold support from those who voted against the certification of the presidential election results,” the company blogged. “Airbnb strongly condemns last week’s attack on the US Capitol and the efforts to undermine our democratic process. We will continue to uphold our community policies by banning violent hate group members when we learn of such memberships.”

T-Mobile intends to “reevaluate” PAC contributions, a spokesperson emailed Monday: “The assault on the U.S. Capitol and on democracy was unacceptable. T-Mobile has supported many elected officials in a bipartisan approach to advancing a policy agenda that keeps the U.S. on the forefront of wireless technology. In light of recent events, we intend to reevaluate our PAC giving, and we look forward to working with the incoming Administration.”

Parler's suit against Amazon alleged (in Pacer) a contract breach and failure to provide 30 days' notice before terminating service. After Twitter’s decision to ban Trump, conservatives fled to Parler, making it the No. 1 free downloaded app from Apple’s App Store, the company said: Had Trump moved to Parler with his 90 million followers, it would have been an “astronomical boon” to Parler and a “heavy blow” to Twitter. Parler requested a temporary restraining order: “Without AWS, Parler is finished as it has no way to get online. And a delay of granting this TRO by even one day could also sound Parler’s death knell as President Trump and others move on to other platforms.”

Amazon deemed the complaint meritless. “There is significant content on Parler that encourages and incites violence against others," the e-commerce company responded in a statement. "Parler is unable or unwilling to promptly identify and remove this content.” Amazon noted that AWS raised concerns for weeks, during which time there was a spike in dangerous content.

Companies acting against “bad actors” on their platforms have a First Amendment “right to do so,” said CCIA President Matt Schruers: “App stores, webhosts, and other intermediaries confronted with such misconduct are similarly protected by our established principles of free expression. The First Amendment does not protect the Government from members of the public; it protects members of the public from the Government.” Communications Decency Act Section 230 further protects platforms’ ability to moderate and manage accounts, he said.