I tried to warn bloggers in May that PayPal would be coming for your site eventually.
Today Jeralyn Merritt and Bill Quick nearly joined the club whose only requirement for membership is that PayPal finds something they don’t like about your site. They’ve appointed themselves the prosecutor, judge, and jury and if you don’t like it – tough shit – there is no avenue for appeal. In Bill and Jeralyn’s case they were able to retain there accounts by removing a link PayPal found offensive, but if (heaven forbid) that link had been to a female breast the PayPal instant account death penalty would have been applied.
Maybe this time people will get the message – NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES LEAVE A BALANCE AT PAYPAL!!!
Paypal has reinstated TalkLeft’s account.
Still, beware.
Just for the record
Yes, they do. Just like we have the right to decide whether we do business with PayPal, or not.
I must admit I’m a little surprised at conservatives and, especially libertarians, being so outraged by a small private company doing business the way it sees fit. I kinda thought we were *for* that, ya know?
Meezer, you’re missing the point. If we find a company doing something we don’t agree with, we take our business elsewhere. I don’t find what PayPal is doing to be worth my business (and I JUST signed up last week) so I shall be cancelling and going someplace else.
We’re not arguing that PayPal doesn’t have the right to do as they please, we’re arguing that we’re not pleased with what they’re doing.
Keep in mind that PayPal accepts and even encourages USER REPORTS of violations of its “Acceptable Use Policy”. With all the press attention over RatherGate, it is hardly surprising that some on the left might attempt to shut down free speech on the internet.
Mike, they’re not trying to stifle “Free Speech”, they’re simply trying to apply market pressure just like we’re willing to do by exposing PayPal’s policies.
Our only weapon is to apply more pressure than they are, doing so with our wallets. The left appears to hate the market so we have the advantage.
Yes, I do see that no one is saying they *can’t* (or it’s not legal) do what PayPal is doing. I still get a definite “pitchforks and torches” feeling about this, though. When my small town dry cleaners closed, I had to go elsewhere to find a new one. The first 2 I tried did a lousy job on my husband’s shirts. The third did a good job and that is where I took my business. I didn’t try to “drive” the first two out of business with a campaign of e-mails, though. As a disclaimer, I am a small business owner myself.
Came by from Armies of Liberation. Thanks for the tip. If they could find anyone offensive, it’d definitely be me.
Meezer, PayPal is no small company. Or more accurately, eBay, the company that owns it, is no small company.
Ah, now I see. It’s an Evil Corporation. Well, go ahead on then.
Sorry, didn’t mean to sound so snarky. I guess I simply don’t understand why the furor. I try to avoid using PayPal myself (and have manged quite well, only using it twice, ever) because I think it’s a royal pain to use. I figured its days were numbered from that aspect alone.
When did I say it was an Evil Corporation? I just noticed that you seemed to think it was a small business, when it isn’t.
I was going to joke about “quick, someone snag gpay.com” since that’s a likely name, being this is Google and all. But someone already has the domain, associated with usemybank.com, for onlinme debit payments. How funny.
Actually, I never removed or changed a darned thig.