The social network Gab, which has been described as both a free speech network and a white supremacist magnet, has come back online after the domain provider, Epik, decided to do business with it. The development comes a week after GoDaddy told the network to find a new domain provider.
Founder and CEO of Epik, Robert W. Monster, posted a blog post explaining why he decided to deal with Gab. After explaining that he had a chance to meet Gab founder Andrew Torba, Monster wrote:
“Although, I did not take the decision lightly to accept this domain registration, I look forward to partnering with a young, and once brash, CEO who is courageously doing something that looks useful. As I reflect on my own journey as a truth-seeking tech entrepreneur, I have no doubt that Andrew will continue to develop not only as tech entrepreneur but also as a responsible steward — one that can balance bravado with diplomacy and who tempers courage with humility.”
Monster went on to point out that Gab.com does have a responsibility to monitor and “lightly curate” the content that is being posted on the network. He cited Watt vs. United States (1969) where the Supreme Court decided threats of violence were unlawful. He topped off the post by expressing his wish for Gab to tread carefully going forward and that he hopes the network will deliver its free speech promise for “betterment” and “enlightenment”.
This year has been quite an eventful year for the social network, for example, earlier this year Microsoft, who was hosting the network, told it to start taking action against malicious activity and last week, after it was revealed that Robert Bowers, the Tree of Life Congregation Synagogue shooter, was a user of the website, PayPal, Medium, Stripe, Joyent, and GoDaddy all stopped doing business with it.
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