Shopify faces mounting criticism for hosting an online store promoting antisemitic merchandise, including Holocaust denial content, sparking debates about its updated content policies.
On November 16, 2023, the widely followed account Stop Antisemitism joined other social media users in alerting Shopify Inc. to an account called TheOfficial1984 on social media network X/Twitter - according to reports by The Financial Post and Infobae.
The account, which has more than 200,000 followers, is marketing a Shopify-hosted online store that sells apparel and accessories with designs that depict the Holocaust as "make-believe." The merchandise features antisemitic propaganda from the Second World War and parodies the likeness of Anne Frank.
The online store's promotion via TheOfficial1984 has drawn significant criticism towards Shopify Inc., Canada's biggest tech company, and puts to the test what the e-commerce platform is willing to accept under a new, more flexible regulation.
On November 13, 2023, the Anti-Defamation League newsletter focused on the X account TheOfficial1984 and its promotion of "antisemitic" merchandise. Both the X account and the Shopify store promoted a Telegram account that shared content celebrating Adolf Hitler.
The Jerusalem Post has tried to access the site, but was surprised to find out that people with an Israeli IP address are banned from it. It redirects the homepage to another page, with the following message: "NoJews allowed."m
According to The Financial Post and Infobae, Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy states that users cannot do anything illegal where they conduct business, nor promote or threaten violence. However, previous versions of Shopify's policy banned "hateful content," according to archives available on the Wayback Machine.
The clause banning "hateful content" appears to have been removed in July 2024, based on cached versions of the page reviewed by Bloomberg. Whether the online store infringes Shopify's newly permissive policy is unclear.
In 2022, Canada outlawed denying or downplaying the Nazis' murder of Jews in the Holocaust. Some of the merchandise in question "would consist of Holocaust distortion and denial," said Montreal Holocaust Museum spokeswoman Sarah Fogg. The criticism puts to the test what the e-commerce platform is willing to accept under its new more flexible regulation.
Shopify representatives did not respond to five requests for comment regarding the situation, according to the report. The operator of the online store also did not respond immediately to a request for comments.
The store is being marketed via an anti-Jewish account on X called TheOfficial1984, which has more than 200,000 followers. Both the X account and the Shopify store promoted a Telegram account that shared content celebrating Adolf Hitler.
The merchandise features antisemitic propaganda from the Second World War and parodies the likeness of Anne Frank. The online store sells apparel and accessories with designs that depict the Holocaust as "make-believe."
Policy banned 'hateful content'
Previous versions of Shopify's policy banned "hateful content," but this clause appears to have been removed in July 2024, based on cached versions of the page reviewed by Bloomberg. Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy currently states that users cannot do anything illegal where they conduct business, nor promote or threaten violence. Whether the online store infringes this policy is unclear.
Shopify Inc., the Ottawa-based e-commerce giant valued at nearly USD 140 billion, has banned stores in the past for promoting violence. One of those stores was operated by the Trump Organization and was removed after the President-elect supported the protesters who stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In 2017, Shopify resisted pressure to remove an online store operated by the right-wing news site Breitbart. Tobi Lutke, the CEO of Shopify Inc., wrote a blog post in 2017 "in support of freedom of expression" explaining the company's position.
The current situation raises questions about the company's commitment to regulating content on its platform. Critics argue that such content should not be allowed under Shopify's policies.
In 2022, Canada outlawed denying or downplaying the Nazis' murder of Jews in the Holocaust. Some of the merchandise "would consist of Holocaust distortion and denial," said Montreal Holocaust Museum spokeswoman Sarah Fogg.
Shopify representatives did not respond to five requests for comment regarding the situation. The operator of the online store has also not provided any statements regarding the issue. The criticism of Shopify puts to the test what the e-commerce platform is willing to accept under its new, more flexible regulation.