PayPal has been on the news lately for the wrong reasons. The payments giant had made it public that it would adopt a policy against misinformation. If the policy had seen the light of day, it would have seen users get fined up to $2,500 if found guilty of misinformation.
PayPal had communicated that among its list of prohibited actions included the sending, publishing, or posting of any content that, according to them, would “promote misinformation” or “present a risk to user safety and wellbeing”.
The company had also laid out its plans to scrutinize each infraction and that the offender might be held accountable for up to $2,500 in fines for each infraction. The regulation would only apply to actions performed on the PayPal platform.
Then the backlash ensued.
Social media users expressed outrage, and they made Twitter the platform of choice to communicate their disgust. Tweets such as these have dominated the timeline all weekend.
Even as these tweets kept raging on, it was radio silence from PayPal until the stakeholders and big guns joined in the fray.
Elon Musks’ tweet seems to be the blow that broke the camel’s back.
PayPal’s Swift Retraction
A swift retraction from PayPal then came with the firm’s spokesperson, setting the record straight.
“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.”
While PayPal was being flamed on social media, actors in the crypto community were busy counting potential wins.
Increased Crypto Payments With Stablecoins
The host of the cryptocurrency podcast Empire, Santiago Santos, stated on Twitter that “PayPal banning speech and blocking payments is the finest thing that has happened for the adoption of crypto payments with stablecoins.” If web2 corporations continue their risky behavior, web3 usage will increase.
This sentiment was echoed by the popular Twitter user the “Wolf Of All Streets” who did not waste time reminding the world why crypto is so important.
Even More Backlash
The backlash did not subside even after PayPal retracted its stance. Things got worse when the political class got involved.
House candidate Lauren Boebert chimed in by lauding everyone that took part in the “fight back” against “cancel culture”.
Political commentator Candace Owens informed her 3 million plus followers that she was removing all her money from PayPal and urged them to do the same.
These are tough times for the global payments giant, and we will be here to monitor how things play out. Will this spell doom for PayPal, a company that already had its fair share of problems before this furore? Will we see more crypto adoption as users protest the move PayPal was trying to make?
