Eventbrite and Mailchimp are the two latest online services to join the offensive against free expression on the Internet following last weekend’s bloody events in Charlottesville, Va.
This Friday, the two services terminated their relationship with Milo Yiannopoulos, citing “terms of service violations” that neither platform has clarified. The conservative firebrand is infamous for his politically incorrect views, which have literally inflamed the left — members of Antifa rioted in the city of Berkeley to protest his appearance at UC-Berkeley in February.
Yiannopoulos revealed Friday that Eventbrite, which allows its users to plan public events, had canceled his upcoming event, “MILO Takes Orlando (Dangerous Book Signing Party),” which he had planned to advertise his newly released book, “Dangerous,” despite previously approving it.
Breitbart reported Friday that the event was first temporarily unpublished pending a possible violation of the company’s community guidelines and terms of services. Following an inquiry, the company informed Yiannopoulos’ organization that it had been re-approved. Ten hours later, they canceled it.
“Following further review, we have determined that Milo Yiannopoulos is no longer authorized to benefit from the Eventbrite platform due to a violation of our Community Guidelines and/or Terms of Service,” stated an email from Eventbrite’s Trust and Safety. “As such, this event cannot be hosted on our platform and your listing has been removed at this time.”
Similarly, Mailchimp canceled Yiannopoulos’ use of their mailing list platform on August 15. In a tersely-worded email, a support agent for the company informed the conservative speaker that his account was “in violation of our Terms of Use, and it has been disabled.” No further information was given.
Yiannopoulos released a statement on Facebook to address Eventbrite:
I am a New York Times bestselling author. Eventbrite agreed at first to provide ticketing for a book signing and then without any explanation cancelled the event and banned me from using their website’s services entirely. Silicon Valley is silencing any conservative, libertarian, or right-winger based on their own bias and discrimination even if no wrongdoing has occurred. If Eventbrite thinks that this will silence me they’re as boneheaded as Antifa.
“Eventbrite’s censorship of my book signing and its apparent total ban on me from its platform is part of what I call ‘the great shuttering’. Libertarians and conservatives are seeing their access to all kinds of online products and services revoked with no reasons offered by Orwellian-sounding ‘trust and safety’ teams — which is code for the far-left activists who run the tech industry’s customer service departments. It isn’t just the neo-Nazis: Silicon Valley is using Charlottesville as a pretext to hurt even moderate conservatives like me and to prevent us from doing business. Next it could be you.
The Daily Caller has reached out to both Eventbrite and Mailchimp but did not receive a reply from either party.
Ian Miles Cheong is a journalist and outspoken media critic. You can reach him through social media at @stillgray on Twitter and on Facebook.