Thomas Prosser, an Associate Professor in European social policy at Cardiff University, has written an excellent Substack post about why liberals, as well as conservatives, should be concerned about PayPal’s decision to deplatform the Daily Sceptic and the Free Speech Union. Here’s how it begins:
This week, Paypal froze the accounts of Toby Young, a British right-wing journalist and bête noire of liberals. Affected accounts include the Daily Sceptic (a website) and Free Speech Union (a body which campaigns for free speech), Young being a founder of both. Seemingly, Paypal took the decision on political grounds, the firm not contradicting reports. British right-wingers have reacted angrily, accusing Paypal of attacking freedom of speech. I agree. In a liberal democracy, firms should not refuse services on political grounds. And Paypal acts as a quasi-public utility, making its actions more serious.
To my surprise, many liberals do not agree, making this a fascinating example of how liberals are increasingly on the wrong side of free speech debates. Writing in the New Statesman, Chris Stokel-Walker argued that firms had the right to deny services to certain people, citing the Ashers case in which a baker refused to supply a cake with a message promoting same sex marriage; Young and the Free Speech Union supported the baker.
Mention of this case is mischievous. Paypal were not asked to circulate a message with which they disagreed; moreover, many liberals opposed the Ashers baker and Young’s position should be irrelevant. More broadly, I am surprised that liberals do not recognize the dangers of corporations engaging in censorship. For example, firms have undertaken many of the acts which have eroded Hungarian democracy, liberals denouncing such attacks. Where does this stop? Is it legitimate to deprive Young of electricity and a mobile phone?
The argument that the incident is isolated and therefore less important is more appealing, yet has problems. As I have written before, conservatives increasingly face social pressure, reflecting the hegemony of liberal values in postmaterial societies. Given the education cleavage, there are high proportions of liberals in corporations, making such incidents more likely. In other words, this affair is part of a pattern and represents a threat to liberal democracy.
We might reflect on why liberals have not defended Young, this enabling insight into the changing profile of liberalism and subsequent threats to democracy. I suspect that liberals are falling victim to misfiring heuristics and group loyalties.
[…]The involvement of Toby Young is relevant, Young long being a liberal hate figure. Differences in the status of liberals and right-populists are important, further disincentivizing liberal defences of Young. As ever, social media makes individual dissent more difficult.
A “liberal hate figure”! Ooh er missus!
Worth reading in full.
You can subscribe to Thomas Prosser’s Substack account here.
Stop Press: I responded to the argument that PayPal’s right to freedom of association means they can kick whoever they like off their platform on GB News today. You can watch a clip here.
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The hypocracy and short sightedness of so-called liberals never ceases to amaze me.
They claim freedom of association means that a company can cancel someone or withhold services based on a whim. Yet that is the same arguement used by actual racists when they enacted segregation and the Jim Crow laws, for example.
It’s said you can judge a man by his friends. It’s seems you can also judge a so-called liberal by the practises they apparently condone by extension.
Yeah good luck with that. These are the same people who demanded more lockdown and money printing and now decry the cost of living crisis they created
”“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’’
The way things are going at the moment the term liberal seems to mean autocratic verging on fascist and the term right wing seems to mean caring about people, reality, freedom, independence and resilience. Looking at some of the comments I have seen on twitter etc. about this matter, it seems to me that many people have failed to recognise what is going on here. This does need fighting, this time it may not have been directed against you or your interest groups but next time it could be you. And next time, having got away with it via Pay-Pal, they may well take this action with your mainstream bank account, your mobile phone provider, your driving licence etc. I am grateful to Toby for taking on this fight it is an important issue with much at stake.
I worry about the capital letter on “Liberal”. Does that mean all people adhering to tradional liberal views or the new USA meaning of “left wing”. Or does it mean the members of the UK Liberal Party which still exists separate from the misnamed Liberal Democratic Party.
Anyone know how I can get hold of PayPal with a query about my account?
There’s something I want to try – more, maybe more fun than straightforward cancelling my account.
TIA.
https://www.paypal.com/uk/smarthelp/contact-us
Many thanks.
This is shocking.
The crazy part is Mr Young has been very careful not to take on the rabbit holes that expose the conspiracy of satanic lies. He is the best voice of cock up theories of politics. In other words, the ideal useful …smart man.
And yet, the Borg have gone after him. And let’s not forget the FSU have a formidable line of legal talent which I hope are brought to act against PayPal.
Still if they go after TY and succeed, it’s all over folks.
We need a campaign for legislation to be enacted that forbids companies from censorship or cancellation of individuals or organisations whose political ideas, speech and stance those companies do not like. If PayPal wishes to behave in this manner it should not be free to operate in UK cyberspace.
I hope Toby and others have listened to Lord David Frost’s interview with Peter Whittle where he champions free speech in exactly the way the FSU does. Frosty has the ear of the government and suggests the view from there is close to his own. Hopefully this is hope for the future.