Facebook Inc FB disabled a 157,000-member trading discussion group on its platform that discussed shares of companies like GameStop Corporation GME and others, Reuters reported Thursday.
What Happened: The group — Robinhood Stock Traders — was created by Allen Tran, a 23-year old who was notified by the social network giant that it had been taken down for violating policies on “adult sexual exploitation,” according to Reuters.
“We were first on the picking tree to be cut off because we are on Facebook, not a free platform like Reddit,” said Tran.
Some members of the Facebook group reportedly made tens of thousands of dollars in trades made popular by the Reddit discussion group r/WallStreetBets, as per Reuters.
Facebook confirmed the removal of the group to Reuters and refused to comment further.
Why It Matters: The group’s creator alleged that “major institutions being frustrated with the success of retail,” and that they are trying to target “any groups they can,” reported Reuters.
The Reddit group — at the center of the short squeeze frenzy in the stocks of GameStop, Blackberry Ltd BB, Nokia Oyj NOK, and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc AMC, went private and then public again in close succession on Wednesday.
The digital distribution platform Discord also discontinued service to WallStreetBets on the same day.
Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk decried Discord’s move and said it had gone “Corpo.”
Price Action: Facebook shares closed almost 2.6% lower at $265 on Thursday and fell 0.11% in the after-hours trading.
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