Alternative social network Minds announced a boycott against Facebook and Google products, as well as payment processing platforms Stripe and PayPal, over their censorship and “unethical” business models, Wednesday.
Minds announced the boycott of “unethical” and “monopolistic” companies on Wednesday in a blog post, during which the company referenced the “excessive surveillance,” bias, and “de-platforming” frequent on the listed platforms.
“Over the past few years, countless businesses and individuals have experienced a pattern of unethical and anti-competitive practices from Google, Facebook and other closed-source networks. These unfair practices, that we know of, include excessive surveillance, data mining, algorithm manipulation, subjective bans, inconsistent enforcement of terms and even complete de-platforming,” Minds declared. “In response, Minds is suspending our support of all Google and Facebook products until the above mentioned items are resolved. Centralized payment platforms like Stripe (which powers Patreon) and PayPal have also been removed from our monetization systems and we are working tirelessly to evolve the Minds token into a true solution for creators. The beauty of the blockchain is that it cannot be censored.”
“A free and open Internet is our goal, and we urge others to join us. Privacy focused alternatives such as DuckDuckGo, Brave, Minds and many others are emerging and gaining momentum with this strategy,” the company continued. “Let’s boycott Google, Facebook and other networks’ manipulative business models relying on proprietary software, censorship, surveillance and unfair monopolistic business practices. The movement to #DeleteFacebook and #BanGoogle is already underway (recently featured on Redacted Tonight and CNET). The platforms we give our energy to will become the future of the web.”
“Minds is prepared to take any and all steps necessary to protect your digital rights,” Minds concluded. “We are powered by freedom — the most powerful idea in human history.”
In October, Facebook started blocking links to Minds, claiming the social network was “unsecure” and advising users not to link to the website.
Attempts to send Minds links to friends on Facebook returned users with an error, requiring them to fill out a CAPTCHA and accept a warning from Facebook before being able to send the link.
“Facebook’s newest effort is a direct attack on one of their largest competitors, Minds.com,” declared Minds in a statement at the time. “Minds is fully encrypted and open source — unlike Facebook — and has never been hacked — something that Facebook can’t claim.”
“The Minds team has attempted to reach out to FB repeatedly to resolve the issue,” the social network continued. “Radio silence.”
Despite complaints, the problem still persists on Facebook.
Minds isn’t the only alternative social media company to face adversity on multiple fronts from the Big Tech Masters of the Universe. Free speech site Gab.com has been blocked from the Google and Apple app stores, had payment processing cut off, and has even faced blacklisting by web hosts.
Charlie Nash is a reporter for Breitbart Tech. You can follow him on Twitter @MrNashington, or like his page at Facebook.
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