Why does any organisation? Why does the NRA? Perhaps it would be nifty to split the world into commercial entities without no permission to lobby, and political entities with no permission to deploy commercial activities, but that sure isn't this world.

In any case, the issue isn't political activism, it's the tastelessness of the threat. It also doesn't help that it exposes how this particular employee apparently felt no compunction in undermining what others in his business were working for - it sure looks like he wasn't actually handling in the best interests of his employer, and I can't imagine he didn't know it.

Social media sites are generally perceived as "common carriers" whom we expect no political activism from (beyond refusing illegal activity & promotion thereof) - to wit commercial entities whom we expect will not lobby (legislators nor customers) re: non-sequitur topics.

Well, we expect social media sites to try and avoid blatantly taking sides. But they definitely thrive on human-interest stuff (such as this), especially if it's something with a social mobilisation aspect, and that's almost bound to skirt the political rather closely. As it does here. At best you might expect social media firms to give opposing sides equal opportunities (even more business!). But even openly biased media is common - e.g. Fox news, but really many other news outlets too - and I see no reason to think social media firms couldn't evolve in the same direction.

I'm not saying we should applaud this development...

In any case, I don't see no evidence that snapchat it being particularly biased based on one story they're pushing. It's pretty much impossible to make that conclusion based on one story, given that they push so many. It looks more like sheer incompetence to me than anything else.

The other employees in his business were donating the services of the business to their pet political causes. Saliterman was trying to make money for the shareholders. It's an advertising business: that means everyone pays.

If Snapchat's board are all in agreement that that's where they want the money to go, fine --- but they should also realize that Snapchat is a social network, and the appearance of fairness is probably a reasonable thing to aim at. If the DNC or RNC launched a social network, they would find themselves somewhat hampered in their ability to grow, and with good reason.

Hacker News can't avoid touching politics, why do you think Snapchat can?

Alternatively, do you think "everything is normal, continue doing consumer culture stuff" somehow isn't a political message?

I'd expect Snapchat users to discuss politics on the platform. I wouldn't necessarily expect Snapchat to expend their own resources to explicitly push an issue-driven political agenda that is unrelated to their own line of business.

Most people can decide whether to "continue doing consumer culture stuff" or to freak out about politics without the help of Snap or any other corporation. There's an odd sort of corporate worship/megalomania that makes people think they're morally obligated to "weigh in" on an issue. They're not, and their constituent individuals are more than capable of pursuing their own political activism and/or creating more appropriate vehicles for voluntary cooperation toward those ends.