The Mercury News Weekend

Shopify shuts down ecommerce stores affiliated with Trump.

Decision is in response to riot at U.S. Capitol

- My danielle Mochove Bloomberg

Shopify said it shut down e- commerce stores affiliated with President Donald Trump in response to the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.

“We have terminated stores affiliated with President Trump,” a company spokeswoma­n said by email. “Shopify does not tolerate actions that incite violence.” The shutdown affects the Trump Organizati­on’s official store, TrumpStore. com, and a campaign store, shop.donaldjtru­mp.com, the spokeswoma­n said.

The sites, which also include Trump hotels, generated messages saying, “Oops something went wrong” and “This store is unavailabl­e.”

The Canadian company’s decision follows a move by the largest social media platforms to freeze Trump’s accounts for the first time.

At Trump’s urging, his supporters overran Capitol Hill on Wednesday, forcing officials to evacuate and delaying Congress’s formal certificat­ion of Biden as the next president.

The company says, “Based on recent events, we have determined that the actions by President Donald J. Trump violate our acceptable use policy, which prohibits promotion or support of organizati­ons, platforms or people that threaten or condone violence to further a cause.”

Ottawa- based Shopif y is Canada’s most valuable company. It began in 2004 as a web service provider to small companies, helping them build websites to sell to customers directly. As the e- commerce market has expanded, so have its tools and services, and the company now attracts large merchants as well.

Trump merchandis­e was still available on Amazon. com and eBay.

 ?? BRYNN ANDERSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ?? After shutting down sites that sell Trump merchandis­e, Shopify said, “Shopify does not tolerate actions that incite violence.” The move comes after Trump supporters rushed the U.S. congressio­nal building Wednesday.
BRYNN ANDERSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS After shutting down sites that sell Trump merchandis­e, Shopify said, “Shopify does not tolerate actions that incite violence.” The move comes after Trump supporters rushed the U.S. congressio­nal building Wednesday.

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