Amazon Removes White Supremacist Items After Pressure From Keith Ellison

After receiving pressure from the left flank of the Democratic Party, Amazon removed some items promoting racial animus and other far-right ideals from its marketplace. The omnipresent e-commerce giant pulled items with Nazi and other white supremacist imagery after Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) put a spotlight on the issue, Buzzfeed News reported.

In July, Ellison wrote a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to ask why Amazon chose to profit off the sale of items adorned with Swastikas and other hateful imagery. There was even a baby’s onesie with a picture of a burning cross, per Buzzfeed News.

In a response dated July 31 and published by Buzzfeed News on Thursday, Amazon told Ellison it had removed the items in question and explained its policy towards hate speech on its marketplace. Amazon promised that any items which violate the law or the company’s own internal policies are promptly removed from sale, which should include anything promoting hate speech.

“Since receiving your letter, we have reviewed the products and content referenced in your letter, and removed the listings that were found in violation of our policies and permanently blocked the seller accounts that were in violation of Amazon policy,” Amazon told Ellison. “We are also reviewing the seller accounts for potential suspension.”

One thing Amazon did not do is say anything about how much it had profited from the sale of said items.

Amazon was not the only major tech company to remove far-right content from its platform this week. Music streaming service Spotify recently started hosting the Infowars podcast hosted by notorious conspiracy theorist and Sandy Hook truther Alex Jones. After pressure from subscribers, Spotify removed episodes of the Infowars podcast, joining YouTube and Facebook as major platforms to clamp down on its reach in recent weeks.

Ellison and other left-wing politicians have slammed Amazon this year for the company’s size and alleged mistreatment of workers. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is an ally of Ellison’s and has been at the forefront of the issue.