Slack takes down 28 accounts tied to hate groups
The company will update its terms of service to reflect its policy on illegal and harmful activity.
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Slack has removed 28 accounts that were linked to hate groups, the chat platform said in a Thursday blog post.
"The use of Slack by hate groups runs counter to everything we believe in at Slack and is not welcome on our platform," the company said. "Using Slack to encourage or incite hatred and violence against groups or individuals because of who they are is antithetical to our values and the very purpose of Slack."
Other tech companies, from Facebook to YouTube to Twitter, have grappled with hateful content on their platforms. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was kicked off a handful of social networks last year, and Facebook banned pages linked to far-right extremists the Proud Boys in October.
Last month Jacob Wohl, another conspiracy theorist, was kicked off Twitter for setting up fake accounts, and Tommy Robinson, founder of the far-right English Defence League, was banned from Facebook and Instagram for breaking hate speech rules.
Slack said in its blog post that it'll investigate and "take appropriate action" when it learns about an organization using the platform for illegal or harmful reasons. The company will update its terms of service to make its stance on this issue clearer, it said.
Last week, internal chats from white nationalist group Identity Evropa were leaked by Unicorn Riot, a nonprofit media collective. The discussions took place on Slack and Discord, an in-gaming chat service.
Originally published March 14 at 1:17 p.m. PT.
Update, 2:56 p.m.: Adds background on leaked chats from white nationalist group Identity Evropa.