Streaming device manufacturer and platform Roku caved in to demands from left-wing activists to blacklist Infowars.
Earlier on Tuesday, Roku had defended Infowars’ ability to offer a channel on the platform, declaring, “While the vast majority of all streaming on our platform is mainstream entertainment, voices on all sides of an issue or cause are free to operate a channel. We do not curate or censor based on viewpoint.”
Later on in the day, however, Roku decided to cave into demand from left-wing activists and groups, including the far-left Sleeping Giants boycott group, and blacklisted Infowars entirely.
“After the InfoWars channel became available, we heard from concerned parties and have determined that the channel should be removed from our platform,” Roku claimed. “Deletion from the channel store and platform has begun and will be completed shortly.”
After the InfoWars channel became available, we heard from concerned parties and have determined that the channel should be removed from our platform. Deletion from the channel store and platform has begun and will be completed shortly.
— Roku (@Roku) January 16, 2019
Roku is just the latest Big Tech company or service to blacklist and censor Infowars, following in the footsteps of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, PayPal, Spotify, Apple, Pinterest, and Disqus.
Last February, Roku faced similar demands from left-wing activists to blacklist the National Rifle Association TV channel (NRATV), but responded by pointing out that the channel had not broken any rules.
“We share deep sadness about the recent tragedy that occurred in Florida. Our streaming platform allows our customers to choose from thousands of entertainment, news and special interest channels, representing a wide range of topics and viewpoints,” Roku declared at the time. “Customers choose and control which channels they download or watch, and parents can set a pin to prevent channels from being downloaded. While the vast majority of all streaming on our platform is mainstream entertainment, voices on all sides of an issue or cause are free to operate a channel. We do not curate or censor based on viewpoint.”
“We are not promoting or being paid to distribute NRA TV. We do not and have not ever had a commercial relationship with the NRA,” the company continued. “Their channel is free to consumers with no ads. We welcome Moms Demand Action and other important groups to use our platform to share their messages too.”
Roku then added, “While open to many voices, we have policies that prohibit the publication of content that is unlawful, incites illegal activities or violates third-party rights, among other things. If we determine a channel violates these policies, it will be removed. To our knowledge, NRA TV is not currently in violation of these content policies.”
