PayPal shuts Free Speech Union account

[ResisterRex]

Big Tech overreach in the Telegraph:

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/20/paypal-shuts-accounts-free-speech-union/

"PayPal has shut down the account of the Free Speech Union, an organisation which defends gender-critical academics and opposes Drag queen story hours in schoolss_.
The US payments company shut down the accounts of the Free Speech Union, its founder Toby Young, and his opinion and news website the Daily Sceptic with no clear explanation last week, The Telegraph can reveal.
Mr Young said he suspected the action was driven by political motivess_ and was a “sinister form of cancel culture”.
...

The Free Speech Union, founded by Mr Young two years ago, has recently called on the Government to ensure children aren't politically indoctrinated at school, citing the teaching of “radical gender theory” through Drag queen story hours in schools.
The organisation has helped to defend people who claim they have lost work for expressing opinions, for example Gillian Philip, the author who said her contract was terminated because she stood up for JK Rowling on Twitter amid a row over transgender rightss_. It has also challenged universities that have “no-platformed” gender-critical academics.
...

Mr Young said: “Withdrawing financial services from dissidents and non-conformists and those who dare to defend them is the new frontline in the ongoing war against free speech.
“The Free Speech Union will be lobbying the Government to put new laws in to prevent companies like PayPal demonetising organisations and individuals because their employees disapprove of their views.”"

FSU tweet:

twitter.com/speechunion/status/1572323227040358401?s=46&t=Q_pYlcOXOni-UQ61agbaRw

Toby Young's version of events:

dailysceptic.org/2022/09/21/paypal-demonetises-the-daily-sceptic/

From Toby...

"I thought about launching a campaign to get PayPal to restore its services to the three accounts, but then decided I didn’t want to have anything more to do with the wretched company. Even if it did a reverse ferret, what guarantee is there it won’t demonetise us again? No, from now on I will have nothing more to do with PayPal and if you’re a customer of the company I hope you’ll follow suit. (Here is a handy YouTube video explaining how to close your PayPal account.)"

Please think about joining the Free Speech Union if you can. They are supporting so many people being cancelled around the Trans issue in the work place.
Some of the big names you know but lots of smaller quieter cases you don't hear about.
They are absolutely inundated with requests for support so need people to support them.

It is getting pretty dystopian in how easily the ‘good people’ can close off the bank accounts of ‘bad people’

I was genuinely shocked that Mr Floppy Hair Trudeau did it to people with, I quote, “unacceptable views” and since then, many more have happened.

Andrew Tate is a recent one too having had all his British accounts frozen, and even though I’m not a fan, I just can’t help but feel there’s a strange sinister feeling to all of this.

@Bosky

I live in Mexico so it may not suit you but I changed to Wise and that service takes next to no commission.

Honestly I thought PayPal had decided to cut its own throat with those commissions, so am surprised that people are still using it, let alone the problem of it closing down accounts like that of the Free Speech Union, which would be reason enough to dump it.

the Free Speech Union have been incredibly supportive to Gilian Phillips and other much less publicised free speech cases. I've joined as a member ages ago in the hope I never have to use their services. But I'd recommend sending them a donation in solidarity if you can afford it. I too never thought I'd be reliant on TOBY YOUNG!

It kind of shows that doing pile-ons and writing people off is always pretty dumb. There is always more to a person than a quick soundbite tells you. Toby Young being the example here of course!

Theres an right wing (so called alt-right,) american comic geek. I forget his name, I unsubscribed some ago but he still comes up in my YT feed. He was very outspoken against the prevailing media culture.

He launched an anti-woke super hero comic series. He used Paypal to collect funds and the comic was in huge demand.... He literally made millions of dollars worth on launch. Paypal refused to release over a million dollars worth of funds - effectively seized payments made, which made it very difficult for him to honour the buyers requests and fulfill orders. I don't what the outcome was, but I think he's had to sue. It would appear on the surface at least, that because his well publicised political views were unwelcome, that they attempted to scupper his business. But I caveat that I don't know if it could have been more than that, or some other explanation that I am unaware of.

The American culture wars are infiltrating everything and everywhere. Politics has made its way into every facet of life: banking, entertainment, retail, education, leisure, sports, social media, food, agriculture...everything. It's incredibly toxic and dehumanising.

The American culture wars are infiltrating everything and everywhere. Politics has made its way into every facet of life: banking, entertainment, retail, education, leisure, sports, social media, food, agriculture...everything. It's incredibly toxic and dehumanising.

This is cultural colonialism. No doubt. We are supposed to adopt Liberal American cultural values or be accused of being right wing, fascist, Nazi, or even Christian. Yet over the past week or so some of the same liberal Americans have been happy to lecture us on our/the Queen's colonial heritage. (Not that I am saying this was good, but like everything, more nuanced that some would have us believe.

I don't often agree with Toby Young. I suspect I would dislike him if I were to meet him. I do admire the way he set about founding the West London Free School even if some of the ideas were odd. And, as long as he stays within the law, he has an absolute right to state his views. So much fuss is made of the need for a diversity of people. We also need a diversity of opinion. No one has a monopoly on what is right, and sometimes just through working out why we might disagree with someone, we clarify our own thinking.

Paypal refused to release over a million dollars worth of funds

That is an interesting business model, isn't it? It is perfectly legal for a bank to keep your money if it doesn't like your ideas?

Surely they can't take people's money without taking them to civil court, without an actual crime having been committed?

They need to be better regulated.

Surely they can't take people's money without taking them to civil court, without an actual crime having been committed?

But even if a crime has been committed, why would a private bank
be allowed to benefit? Surely the money would have to be returned to the original owners

Yes agree, I meant that they would impound the money and hand it to the authorities in a criminal case.

Toby Young says they came out with some nonsense that they could claim "damages" from their money directly, if they were found to have breached the rules of the platform.

I've been meaning to close my PayPal account for ages. Just tried and they are looking into it. Apparently.

I'll get back onto it tomorrow.

There was a recent Triggernometry episode on Paypal cancelling accounts in order to police free speech, worth listening too. All very worrying.

Some of the info posted here has been really interesting - and frightening! Feels like we've given over our democracy and processes to faceless tech bros.

I hope Toby Y is as well placed as anyone else to fight this. Also not exactly a fan but that's not the point as we all know.

Can anyone suggest alternatives?

This is cultural colonialism. No doubt. We are supposed to adopt Liberal American cultural values or be accused of being right wing, fascist, Nazi, or even Christian. Yet over the past week or so some of the same liberal Americans have been happy to lecture us on our/the Queen's colonial heritage. (Not that I am saying this was good, but like everything, more nuanced that some would have us believe.

It is extraordinary the sheer arrogance of people who do not and will never live here presuming to 'educate us' on what our history means, what it is, and who we are. The irony of them bleating about cultural appropriation every five minutes despite imposing their world view on everyone else never ceases to amaze me.

FSU tweet saying it's not just them. It's sinister, neither the FSU nor Us For Them are proscribed groups.

twitter.com/speechunion/status/1572663108069376000?s=46&t=fMcukZ9Rlet8Q0ja8Od8BQ

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/09/21/paypal-shuts-account-parents-group-campaigned-keep-schools-open/

"PayPal shuts account of parents’ group that campaigned to keep schools open during pandemic
UsForThem said it has been unable to access thousands of pounds in donations ‘due to the nature of our activities’"

moneycheck.com/paypal-alternatives/

More groups

twitter.com/speechunion/status/1572667196773437443?s=46&t=fMcukZ9Rlet8Q0ja8Od8BQ

Paypal account deleted.

Just about a few months ago I thought to me poor
self:
I clearly read & think things I shouldn't be thinking
(never mind fucking reading, that's sedition FFS)
and as it happens I still agree with me poor self on the things I was/am thinking.

And that in turn means - inevitably - I'm beyond repair.
As my own 25yrs old son (only effing prince in this household) said: "I should "investigate thoroughly" my
philosophical baggage and subsequent "evident errors
in reasoning" (used to study the subject, wrote a thesis on religious symbolism & sanctum definition, etc. in Europe) I have nothing to contribute to the debate, but
"contempt & derision". Evil me, in short.

And then I had an idea:
how about I report myself now to the police,
being utterly pre-emptive and trying to avoid another
non-crime hate incident - before it even happens?
Eh?
I'll fucking phone them up, tell everybody what I really DO think and feel - and see what happens, by which I mean the more I'm in prison the less I fucking care so try and shut me up now, you morons.
Imagine the savings we as taxpayers could make
in the process. Eh?
Mind you, in the subsequent civil/criminal trial nobody
will shut me up if their lives depended on it.

There's your civil obedience/disobedience grassroots movement.
And who could fault us for that?
For being "kind AND considerate"?
They won't fucking know what hit them.

A pre-non-crime amnesty? That could be interesting.