Platforms are rapidly removing Donald Trump’s account or accounts affiliated with pro-Trump violence and conspiracies, like QAnon and #StoptheSteal.

It was already shaping up to be a very strange CES this year, with the world's largest consumer tech show going virtual. Now, CES also has to compete with a constitutional crisis and worsening pandemic.

The big picture: The Consumer Technology Association, which puts on CES, has done its best to move the big press events and keynote online.

Twitter's decision Friday to kick President Trump off Twitter proved just the opening salvo in a broadening series of other consequential moves by tech companies cracking down on those who took part in or encouraged last week's insurrection at the Capitol.

Why it matters: The moves have renewed debate over how much power tech companies should have to decide whose content lives on the internet.

Amazon's decision to boot conservative chat site Parler from its hosting platform, on the heels of Twitter and many other services banishing President Trump, brings three decades of hot argument over online speech to a boil.

Why it matters: Four years of a president who behaved like a boundary-pushing online troll, fostering mayhem that culminated in Wednesday's assault on the Capitol, finally forced the executives who control today's internet to draw lines.

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.

Georgia's election results handing Senate control to Democrats mean the incoming Biden administration can fill key seats at the agencies that regulate tech.

Why it matters: That will give Democrats a chance to turn tech policy talk into action and advance legislation on issues like privacy and competition.

Year-end sales numbers are telling Facebook executives that their big bet on hardware is starting to pay off.

Driving the news: Facebook's hardware team found itself just where it hoped to be for the holiday shopping season: under the Christmas tree, with both Quest 2 VR systems and Portal smart screens delivering better-than-expected sales.

Following the Georgia runoff elections, the Facebook ban that restricts ads on social issues, elections and politics nationwide will be reimplemented in the state, the company said on Tuesday.

The big picture: The company has been trying to adapt its political ad policies in real time to curb confusion and possible misinformation around the election results.

Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf will step down from his position in June, after more than 26 years with the company, according to a press release out Tuesday.

The big picture: Cristiano Amon, the company president who headed its 5G strategy, received unanimous support from the board of directors to replace Mollenkopf. The shift comes as the company has greatly increased its focus on the development of 5G technology.