The Electronic Frontier Foundation has criticized the efforts of tech companies to strike back against white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups online by removing their access to servers and services.

As proponents of online free speech, the EFF notes that while, “all fair-minded people must stand against the hateful violence and aggression that seems to be growing across our country,” tactics used to silence neo-Nazis could also be used to silence others, “including people whose opinions we agree with.”

The importance of free speech

“Protecting free speech is not something we do because we agree with all of the speech that gets protected,” a blog post by the EFF states. “We do it because we believe that no one—not the government and not private commercial enterprises—should decide who gets to speak and who doesn’t.”

The EFF’s blog post (which also includes some recommendations you can read here) was prompted by the decision of GoDaddy and Google to refuse to manage the domain registration for the Daily Stormer, a neo-Nazi website. Other companies which have also taken action against similar sites include Uber, Facebook, Twitter, MailChimp, WordPress, and Airbnb.

As Reuters notes:

“The blog post reflected years-long tension in Silicon Valley, where many company executives want to distance themselves from extremists but are concerned that picking and choosing what is acceptable on their platforms could invite more regulation from governments.”

Apple and the EFF

Apple’s not mentioned in the EFF’s post, although Apple too has made moves to cut down on online hate speech. Specifically, Apple disabled Apple Pay support on three websites selling sweaters with Nazi symbols, “White Pride” paraphernalia, and other offensive items.

While it didn’t issue an official statement about the decision, Apple highlighted guidelines for Apple Pay, forbidding its use on sites which promote hate, intolerance, and violence. Previously, in 2014, Apple removed songs from iTunes the Southern Poverty Law Center referred to as, “hate music.”

Apple has, at various times, arguing on both the same side and against the EFF on various issues. Most recently, it supported Apple in its pro-privacy battle against the FBI; awarding the company its full five stars in the “Who Has Your Back?” privacy report.