You may have heard of Gab, the social network that promotes free speech and has become infamous for its policies. Kenyans too have joined Gab, especially recently when a popular Kenyan blogger was banned on Twitter and as a result, over 10,000 Kenyans joined the social network.
Sure Gab promotes free speech and all, but it is hosted on a cloud platform and the social network is hosted on Microsoft’s Azure. Well Gab announced on Twitter that Azure had given them a 48 hour notice to pull down two posts on their network or they would pull their service down.
BREAKING: Gab’s hosting provider, Microsoft Azure, has given us 48 hours to take action on two posts or they will pull our service and Gab will go down for weeks/months. pic.twitter.com/dIfaeTr2Go
— Gab.ai (@getongab) August 9, 2018
Microsoft Azure issued this sanction against Gab due to an abuse report regarding anti-Semitic posts made on the social network by one Patrick_little. The user ended up deleting the post out of his own ‘free will’ as Gab says, but this move by Microsoft has made Gab consider another option.
Since they are a social network that promotes free speech and that is a controversial move that welcomes posts that contravene with other policies on other networks, they have decided to embark on looking for many to have their own infrastructure.
“The general public is gradually coming to see that their internet experience is increasingly being shaped and influenced by a handful of companies,” Gab says on the website.
Gab is fighting through a thick mud where they are grappling a situation where big tech is fighting trolls and abusers by not tolerating them on their platforms and who end up in Gab that is hosted on big tech infrastructure. It will be a tough time for them and we’ll see how that will turn out.
