Google has pulled Parler, a social media app for conservatives and far-right extremists, from its app store for not taking stronger action to remove posts that seek "to incite ongoing violence" in the U.S.
Driving the news: For weeks prior to Wednesday's deadly siege on the Capitol, far-right Trump supporters discussed the idea of a violent protest in D.C. on various social media and chat platforms, including Parler.
Apple on Friday morning demanded that Parler, a social media app favored by conservatives and far-right extremists, submit a “moderation improvement plan” within 24 hours or face removal from the app store, BuzzFeed reports.
Driving the news: In a letter to Parler executives, Apple said it had received several complaints that the app had been used to help plan and facilitate Wednesday's deadly siege on the Capitol by supporters of President Trump.
Twitter announced Friday that the platform will permanently suspend President Trump's account effective immediately.
Driving the news: It's Twitter's strongest action against the president's account and comes in response to the "risk of further incitement of violence," per the social media company. The move follows Wednesday's siege at the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob as Congress was certifying the Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden.
Twitter permanently suspended the accounts of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and President Trump's lawyer Sidney Powell on Friday for breaking the platform's "Coordinated Harmful Activity" policy.
Why it matters: The action comes as part of the platform's crackdown on QAnon-related content. Both Flynn and Powell have promoted the far-right conspiracy theory that purports without evidence that the "deep state" is waging war against President Trump.
Reddit has banned the subreddit group "r/DonaldTrump," a spokesperson confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: While not an official group or page hosted by the president, it's one of the company's largest political communities dedicated to support for President Trump.
SoFi, a San Francisco-based personal finance company, agreed to go public via a reverse merger with a blank-check company called Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. V at an $8.65 billion valuation.
Why it matters: This crowns SCH's Chamath Palihapitiya as the king of tech unicorn SPACs, following earlier deals for Virgin Galactic and Opendoor.
So much of Wednesday's assault on the Capitol looked readymade for memes because, for many of today's far-right digital natives, that is the point.
What happened: The outlandishly costumed rioters — among them, shirtless, horned "Q Shaman" Jake Angeli and fur-clad Brooklynite Aaron Mostofsky — had no wish to fade into the crowd.
The breach of the Capitol this week by pro-Trump rioters also put lawmakers' cybersecurity at risk.
Why it matters: Files, emails and other data lifted from lawmakers would have enormous value to hostile foreign powers, cybercriminals and other bad actors.
Big Tech companies took swift action to limit President Trump's online reach following Wednesday's riot at the Capitol. Facebook announced his account would be shut down "indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks" and Twitter promised to ban him if he breaks its rules one more time.
Yes, but: The companies had been preparing for this moment for a while.
