Social media stocks took a hit Monday as companies scramble to silence some high-profile accounts that they believe are inciting violence following attacks on the U.S. Capitol.
Stock prices for Twitter (TWTR), Facebook (FB), Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOGL), and Apple (AAPL) all fell as the companies grappled with how to deal with the tragic events of last week.
“While the week will certainly be remembered for far more shocking events, it’s not lost on us that we may be at the precipice of a change to long-standing Internet rules of engagement,” Bernstein internet analyst Mark Shmulik said.
Twitter permanently banned President Trump’s account on Friday, leading to the exodus of some of the biggest names in political commentary.
“Private companies with clear terms and conditions can remove and suspend violators as they deem appropriate,” Shmulik said.
Shmulik warned that changing the liability laws doesn’t solve the issue of what content is and isn’t permitted. “It’s telling that Facebook has been vocal about seeking regulatory guidance here, going so far as to set up their own Oversight Board in absence of formal regulation.”
Amazon Web Services (AWS) suspended its relationship as web host for the right-wing chat service Parler, knocking it off the internet.
“On the social-media front, detractors will point to Free Speech and moderation subjectivity—it’s not hard to find other social-media accounts breaching these same terms and conditions—yet no other account has the authority (as President of the United States), nor the reach (6th most followed account on Twitter) of Donald Trump.”
