WASHINGTON — Reuters reports that social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have started to ban conservative commentators and the American president from their platforms.

Amazon Web Services even went so far as to shut down a website called Parler, touted as a free-speech alternative to Twitter.

The big tech companies behind the move say they're doing this because some of the commentators on these channels are inciting violence.

Conservative and liberal analysts alike have expressed concern over the move, with the American Civil Liberties Union saying: "It should concern everyone when companies like Facebook and Twitter wield the unchecked power to remove people from platforms that have become indispensable for the speech of billions."

With Parler closed down, conservatives now have few dependable platforms to speak through. The most popular option seems to be a social network website called Gab, which is touted as a website that can't be shut down because it provides its own web services.

Other options are the Telegram messaging app, the Rumble video platform, MeWe, and 2nd1st.