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It is time to delete your PayPal. On Saturday, the company backtracked on a policy that would have fined users $2,500 for spreading “misinformation,” claiming the update included “incorrect information.”
Breaking the company’s rules against misinformation and hate speech “may subject you to damages, including liquidated damages of $2,500.00 U.S. dollars per violation, which may be debited directly from your PayPal account,” read the new policy.
In a proposed user agreement, account holders must accept and attest that the penalty is “presently a reasonable minimum estimate of PayPal’s actual damages” due to the cost incurred by tracking these violations as well as repetitional damages.
Following a major backlash that included condemnation from Elon Musk and former PayPal president David Marcus, a policy reversal was announced by early Saturday evening.
“An AUP notice recently went out in error that included incorrect information. PayPal is not fining people for misinformation and this language was never intended to be inserted in our policy,” a spokesperson said. “Our teams are working to correct our policy pages. We’re sorry for the confusion this has caused.”
This is all too little, too late. PayPal has for years been in the business of financial blacklisting and censorship. It recently banned Gays Against Groomers, a group composed of LGBT people that raises awareness of the sexualization and medicalization of children influenced by the transgender movement.
In the UK, PayPal canceled three accounts run by the conservative journalist Toby Young, including one for his organization the Free Speech Union, and his COVID information website The Daily Sceptic. Following a public backlash, the ban was eventually reversed. Evolutionary biologist Colin Wright and journalist Ian Miles Cheong, who also work to expose the dangers of sex changes for minors, also face permanent suspensions.
The time is ripe for conservatives and libertarians to build out their own parallel economy that bypasses the blacklisting and censorship of Silicon Valley’s most influential companies. This includes embracing the benefits of decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Democrat-controlled companies such as PayPal don’t want our business; it is time to stop giving it to them.
Ben Kew is English Editor of El American. He studied politics and modern languages at the University of Bristol where he developed a passion for the Americas and anti-communist movements. He previously worked as a national security correspondent for Breitbart News. He has also written for The Spectator, Spiked, PanAm Post, and The Independent
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Ben Kew es editor en inglés de El American. Estudió política y lenguas modernas en la Universidad de Bristol, donde desarrolló una pasión por las Américas y los movimientos anticomunistas. Anteriormente trabajó como corresponsal de seguridad nacional para Breitbart News. También ha escrito para The Spectator, Spiked, PanAm Post y The Independent.