Scott Tibbs
PayPal's scheme to steal money from users
By Scott Tibbs, October 31, 2022
The following is an open letter to my Congressman.
Congressman Hollingsworth,
I have been with PayPal since 2004. Last week, I closed my account. From a business standpoint, PayPal's threat to steal money from their users if they dislike our opinions was unforgivable. PayPal has permanently lost the trust of many users, and that trust will never be restored. I can never trust that any money I send through that service will be processed appropriately. The idea that Big Tech can steal $2,500 from their users for spreading "misinformation"
outside of the platform is morally abominable.
PayPal claims that this language was never intended to be inserted in the acceptable use policy. I do not believe believe them. This looks like a "trial balloon" that backfired badly. At the very least, this immoral policy was at least under consideration. PayPal has proven it cannot be trusted and that is why I believe Congressional action is needed, both in oversight and new regulations.
I am normally not one to suggest new laws. I think both Congress and our state legislature would be better off focusing on repealing laws instead of passing new ones. This greedy scheme, however, shows a need for action. Make no mistake: This is not a "fine." This is outright theft and it is a basic responsibility of the civil magistrate to prohibit actions to directly harm others. This is not like social media companies banning speech or opinions they dislike, or banning users who post "objectionable" speech. This is the outright theft of someone's money with no due process or criminal conviction.
Congress should pass regulations on all non-bank financial institutions like PayPal that forbid confiscating user funds for "misinformation" or even the most noxious political opinions. The penalty should ideally follow God's Law: The theft of $2,500 should be paid back seven fold. PayPal would be forced to pay its users $17,500 for every "fine" they impose. Criminal penalties, including prison time, would also apply to any attempt to impose such a draconian policy in the future. Please act quickly to protect American consumers from predatory actions by Big Tech.
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