Online payment giant Paypal saw its stock share prices plunge over five percent during early trading on Oct. 10 after a report released by The Daily Wire exposed in detail the company’s move to fine its users for spreading “misinformation.”
Paypal, a financial firm well-known for de-platforming and de-banking various companies and content creators for espousing political views contrary to their own, put out an updated “acceptable use policy.”
In the new policy that shook the online world, the firm stated that the promotion of what they refer to as “misinformation” along with “hate, violence, racial or other forms of intolerance that is discriminatory,” according to The Daily Wire.
Within 24 hours of the news being broken by conservative and even mainstream media, Paypal furiously backpedaled and appeared to enter PR ‘damage-control’ mode. The firm quickly published an update that the new AUP was published “in error” and apologized to the public for “the confusion this has caused.”
The blowback from the release did not subside, however.
In the early morning hours after the opening bell rang, Paypal’s stock valuation dropped by an astonishing $6 billion.
“PayPal is not fining people for misinformation and this language was never intended to be inserted in our policy. We’re sorry for the confusion this has caused,” a spokesperson for the company told Reuters.
The new policy reportedly would have levied a $2,500 fine for damages for each violation and was set to go into effect on November 3.
Former President of Paypal David Marcus was extremely critical of the released policy and tweeted. “A private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with. Insanity.”
It’s hard for me to openly criticize a company I used to love and gave so much to. But @PayPal’s new AUP goes against everything I believe in. A private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with. Insanity. https://t.co/Gzf8faChUb
— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) October 8, 2022
The Daily Wire explained the assessed “damages” would be “debited directly” from the user’s PayPal account at the “sole discretion” of PayPal.
