EBay and Amazon Decide to Ban the Confederate Flag, Too

Online shopping giants eBay and Amazon announced Tuesday that they will prohibit the sale of Confederate flag merchandise on their sites, following in the steps of Walmart and Sears.

"We have decided to prohibit Confederate flags, and many items containing this image, because we believe it has become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism," eBay said in an initial statement. "This decision is consistent with our long-standing policy that prohibits items that promote or glorify hatred, violence and racial intolerance.

EBay made the announcement first, followed later in the day by Amazon.

.@eBay confirms to @BuzzFeedNews they will prohibit the sale of the Confederate flag on their site pic.twitter.com/vfXqNGMveE

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 23, 2015

However, some Twitter users pointed out that eBay does, in fact, allow the sale of merchandise with other symbols that could perpetuate the glorification of "hatred, violence and racial intolerance," including swastikas and other Nazi emblems.

@BecketAdams And yet...... pic.twitter.com/G3LcrWeE6a

— dtn44 (@dtn44)

June 23, 2015

@bernielubell @eBay are you banning offensive stuff like this? Otherwise, sit down. pic.twitter.com/SRZwFgV6PO

— NancyBellicec (@Nancy_Bellicec) June 23, 2015

This is getting confusing. Is eBay going to ban those items but not these (https://t.co/VsejoaqpHQ)? https://t.co/iNJeU0ZuPY

— Ham (@ChimpNo65) June 23, 2015

"@eBay says it will ban sale of Confederate flags and items with image of the flag" Thank goodness Nazi memorabilia is safe! Idiots.

— Thaler (@Thaler_AB)

June 23, 2015

If eBay decides to scrub its site of Confederate merchandise, the Clinton-Gore Confederate flag campaign buttons might also have to go.

Shortly after eBay announced its decision to pull Confederate flag merchandise, Amazon announced it would follow suit.

Amazon spokesperson now confirms that the company will pull Confederate flag merchandise.

— MJ Lee (@mj_lee) June 23, 2015

BREAKING: Amazon spokesperson confirms it's pulling down confederate flag merchandise.

— Alex Fitzpatrick (@AlexJamesFitz) June 23, 2015

"Obviously this is a decision for individual businesses to make. But the announcements from Walmart and Sears are certainly consistent with the kind of position the president has taken when it comes to the Confederate flag," White House press secretary Josh Earnest said during a briefing Tuesday afternoon. "We welcome those positions. But obviously, those decisions should be made by individual businesses.”

Earlier Monday, TheBlaze reported that while Walmart also decided to yank Confederate flag memorabilia from its shelves and online, the company still sells several types of Che Guevara posters.

This post has been updated to include Amazon's pulling of Confederate merchandise from its site as well as a comment from the White House.