Amazon has joined other retailers in banning the sale of merchandise sporting the Confederate flag.
Following the racially-motivated slaying of nine people in Charleston, South Carolina, calls across the country to “take down the flag” have intensified. Earlier this week, Walmart and Sears announced they would be removing confederate flag merchandise from their stores, and soon after online marketplaces eBay and Etsy made the same decision.
Amazon has always withheld the right to remove products it deems offensive, including “products that promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance or promote organizations with such views,” according to its banned products page.
Amazon spokesperson now confirms that the company will pull Confederate flag merchandise.
— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) June 23, 2015
Amazon has yet to make a public statement on the ban, but an eBay spokesperson said its decision was based on the belief that the flag is a symbol of divisiveness and racism.
“We have decided to prohibit Confederate flags, and many items containing this image, because we believe it has become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism,” eBay spokesperson Johnna Hoff said in a statement. “This decision is consistent with our long-standing policy that prohibits items that promote or glorify hatred, violence and racial intolerance.”
As of now, Amazon returns tens of thousands of products for a “confederate flag” search.
This story is developing…
Image via fauxto_digit, Flickr Creative Commons