The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has taken successful action that led to the shut down of Richard Spencer’s Altright.com website. In April 2018 the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law issued a demand letter to GoDaddy.com pointing the company to evidence demonstrating that Altright.com was not complying with GoDaddy.com’s terms of service.
National Civil Rights Organization Shuts Down Richard Spencer’s Altright.com Hate Site
“Following our action and GoDaddy’s decision to terminate domain registration services to Altright.com, those who frequented Richard Spencer’s website won’t find it as easy to incite violent activity,” said Kristen Clarke, Pres. and Exec. Dir. of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (PRWEB) MAY 04, 2018
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Continues to Take Action to Confront Hate Activity Online
Latest Action Leads to Shut Down of Richard Spencer’s Altright.com Site
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has taken successful action to shut down Richard Spencer’s Altright.com website. In April 2018 the Lawyers’ Committee issued a demand letter (http://bit.ly/AltRShut) to GoDaddy.com directing the company to information that showed Altright.com out of compliance with GoDaddy’s terms of service. . Altright.com is a website owned and operated by Richard Spencer. Following receipt of the Lawyers’ Committee’s letter, GoDaddy.com stopped providing domain registration services to Altright.com.
“Websites like Altright.com fuel racial violence and dangerous white supremacist activity all across our country. We will continue using every tool in our arsenal to confront the rise in hate and to obstruct the work of those bent on polarizing communities and sowing hatred by inciting violence,” said Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Richard Spencer’s site, Altright.com, was a primary breeding ground for white supremacists that promoted violence against minorities and others. Following our action and GoDaddy’s decision to terminate domain registration services to Altright.com, those who frequented Richard Spencer’s website won’t find it as easy to incite violent activity.”
An article from January 26, 2018 on Altright.com states that the use of live ammunition at the border can create a “substantial chance that they [immigrants crossing the border] lose their life in the process.” The article goes on to argue that “A little bit of lawlessness and savagery in the ranks of border patrol should be encouraged … One of the West’s primary problems is that we have become too law-centered, too law-abiding. Superiors would do well to turn their heads to a bit of brutality and vengeance by our guys on the border, perhaps even tolerating a massacre here or there.”
As the Lawyers’ Committee letter to GoDaddy noted, this type of language violated the provisions of GoDaddy’s terms of service.
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law also directed GoDaddy.com to user comments on Altright.com. Some of the comments on Altright.com included direct threats against specific individuals.
Unlike other sites that routinely remove content that promotes or incites violence, or otherwise institute policies for engaging in the comments section, Altright.com featured comments that appeared to violate GoDaddy.com’s terms of service in perpetuity.
Today’s action is part of the Lawyers’ Committee’s ongoing work to address the rise in racial violence and hatred online. Last summer, the organization took action that resulted in the shut down of Stormfront.org for more than two months.
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 55th year, the Lawyers’ Committee is continuing its quest to “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and voting rights. The Lawyers’ Committee’s Stop Hate Project works to strengthen the capacity of community leaders, local government, law enforcement, and organizations around the country to combat hate. The Stop Hate Project’s resource and reporting hotline for hate incidents, 1-844-9-NO-HATE (1-844-966-4283), connects people and organizations combating hate with the resources and support they need. For more information, visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
