137974
The Weekly Sceptic Live The Weekly Sceptic Live The Weekly Sceptic Live
  • Log in
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

Will I Be PayPal’s Downfall?

by Toby Young
13 October 2022 2:00 PM

I’ve written about PayPal’s latest difficulties in my Spectator column this week. Here is an extract.

A few days after releasing me from PayPal jail, it doubled down on its social activism, publishing an update to its Acceptable Use Policy whereby customers were prohibited from using its services to, among other things, post “objectionable’”content or “depict, promote or incite hatred or discrimination of protected groups or of individuals or groups based on protected characteristics (e.g. race, religion, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, etc)”. Not only that, but if any of its customers committed these sins, PayPal granted itself the right to fine them $2,500 “per violation’” which would be deducted from their accounts. In effect, PayPal would become a digital version of the Taliban’s religious police, issuing swift, on-the-spot beatings for the propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice.

Was this announcement a response to the company’s climbdown in my case? PayPal’s lawyers may have advised the CEO that I could sue for damages if my accounts weren’t restored, so if he wanted a freer hand in future he’d need to put this more draconian policy in place. Or perhaps PayPal’s restoration of my accounts led to a backlash among the company’s twentysomething employees and this was designed to quell the revolt. Or maybe it was just a coincidence.

Not surprisingly, the threat of PayPal helping itself to $2,500 from its customers’ deposits – “per violation” – caused widespread panic and people began to close their accounts in droves. Indeed, last weekend #boycottpaypal started trending on Twitter and even Elon Musk, one of the company’s founders, popped up to stick the boot in. PayPal launched into damage-control mode and claimed – rather implausibly – that the update “went out in error” and included “incorrect information”. Ironically, one of the sins the company said it would punish people for was promoting ‘“misinformation”. So will it now fine itself $2,500?

It remains to be seen whether this ‘clarification’ will be enough to stop the exodus. How can PayPal’s customers trust the company again? It has only said it won’t fine people if they promote “misinformation”, with the penalty remaining in place if you commit any of the other sins. When trading opened on Wall Street on Monday, shares in the company fell by 6 per cent. By the time you read this, the $110 billion behemoth may be a smoking ruin – the biggest casualty yet of ‘Go woke, go broke’.

Worth reading in full.

Tags: Dan SchulmanElon MuskGo woke go brokePayPal

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

NHS Waiting List Tops Seven Million for First Time Leaving One in Eight People in England Waiting for Treatment

Next Post

The Guardian Finally Publishes an Anti-Lockdown Op-Ed – Two and a Half Years Late

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

22 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

 

DONATE

PODCAST

Nick Dixon and Toby Young Talk About the Attack on Kellie-Jay Keen by Trans Rights Activists, the BBC’s Perverse Insistence on Calling a Rapist “Her” and the Brutal Cancellation of Alfie Brown

by Will Jones
28 March 2023
0

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editors Picks

Britain’s Backlash Against LTNs: Fed-Up Residents Torch Road Blocks Hours After They Were Installed

28 March 2023
by Will Jones

In Defence of Andrew Bridgen’s Speech to Parliament on the Risks vs Benefits of Covid Vaccination

28 March 2023
by Norman Fenton, Clare Craig, Martin Neil, Jonathan Engler and Mr Law

News Round-Up

28 March 2023
by Will Jones

The Great Food Reset Has Begun

28 March 2023
by Will Jones

The Dumb Chain of Events that Brought Face Mask Tyranny to the West

28 March 2023
by Eugyppius

In Defence of Andrew Bridgen’s Speech to Parliament on the Risks vs Benefits of Covid Vaccination

30

The Dumb Chain of Events that Brought Face Mask Tyranny to the West

25

The Bad Science Behind Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ Anti-Car Crusade

26

News Round-Up

35

Britain’s Backlash Against LTNs: Fed-Up Residents Torch Road Blocks Hours After They Were Installed

15

In Defence of Andrew Bridgen’s Speech to Parliament on the Risks vs Benefits of Covid Vaccination

28 March 2023
by Norman Fenton, Clare Craig, Martin Neil, Jonathan Engler and Mr Law

The Dumb Chain of Events that Brought Face Mask Tyranny to the West

28 March 2023
by Eugyppius

The Bad Science Behind Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ Anti-Car Crusade

28 March 2023
by Ben Pile

Mainstream Media’s New Obsession: Labelling Criticism of 15-Minute Cities ‘Conspiracy Theories’

27 March 2023
by Rebekah Barnett

Almost Everything Is “Institutionally Racist”

27 March 2023
by Noah Carl

POSTS BY DATE

October 2022
M T W T F S S
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
« Sep   Nov »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Forum
  • Donate
  • Newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Please note: To be able to comment on our articles you'll need to be a registered donor

Already have an account?
Please click here to login Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment