US domain provider boots white supremacist site

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US domain provider GoDaddy has informed Daily Stormer, a website which helped organize and promote white supremacist rallies in US state of Virginia, to switch platforms within 24 hours, TechCrunch reported on Monday.

This came shortly after a Twitter user linked the company an article on Daily Stormer about the death of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old woman killed while protesting the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville on Saturday.

Heyer, a legal assistant from Virginia, was struck by a car which rammed into the protest crowd. The 20-year-old suspect James Alex Fields Jr., from the US state of Ohio, is now held in Virginia jail and charged with a second degree murder among other crimes related to the incident.

The article on Daily Stormer about Heyer's death indicates no empathy and respect. In fact, Heyer was namecalled and attacked based on her appearance and her opinion towards racism. The writer also described Fields as “cool”.

GoDaddy’s response regarding Daily Stormer’s hate speech

“We have informed the Daily Stormer that they have 24 hours to move the domain to another provider, as they have violated our terms of service,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.

“If no action is taken after 24 hours, we will cancel the service. Given this latest article comes on the immediate heels of a violent act, we believe this type of article could incite additional violence, which violates our terms of service.”

Tech world determined to tackle hate speech

Other tech firms are also doing their part.

Airbnb deactivated users who showed intention in attending the white supremacist rally.

Earlier this year, a former Airbnb host who canceled a guest's reservation over their race was fined 5,000 US dollars and made to take an Asian Americans studies course. Before the court ruling, the home sharing company had banned the host permanently from its platform.

Other US tech giants like Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube have also signed up to a voluntary ‘Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online’ last May.

The code came as a result of increasing racist comments across the social media platforms, and requires the companies to remove hate comments within 24 hours if necessary.