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Over the weekend PayPal was in hot water over a new policy they reportedly published that said they would fine users $2,500 for spreading “misinformation.” Conservative political commentators took to social media to highlight the companies new Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) calling on people to delete their PayPal accounts.
Now the big tech company is saying the AUP was sent out in error. “PayPal is not fining people for misinformation and this language was never intended to be inserted in our policy. Our teams are working to correct our policy pages. We’re sorry for the confusion this has caused,” a spokesperson told National Review.
The PayPal stock was down Monday following the outcry on social media. Political commentator, Candace Owens posted on her Instagram page that her followers should move their money out PayPal.
“PayPal has gone full communism, we know they’re all jumping in that direction,” Owens says. She believes they are targeting people who are perpetuators of “misinformation”, targeted at censoring conservative and Christian voices.
People are continuing to speak up across social media despite the company backtracking on the previous policy update they posted. Turning Point USA contributor Benny Johnson says, “Social credit is coming to America.”
Former PayPal president David Marcus took to Twitter to share his critiques of PayPal’s AUP saying it goes against “everything he believes in.” He continued saying, “A private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with. Insanity.”
Elon Musk responded to Marcus Twitter thread saying, “Agreed.”
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
While PayPal has not once said they are attempting to aid a social credit system, that is happening in other places in the world, like China, and it’s worth paying attention to.
In 2014, the Chinese Communist Party introduced a social ranking system they were developing to watch over people and rank them based off behavior, credit score and loan payments.
The South China Morning Post says “A good rating could offer priority health care or deposit-free renting of public housing, while a negative rating could see individuals banned from flights and trains.”
Though PayPal has reversed their policy, Christians and conservatives should be aware of what big tech companies are doing behind the scenes. It’s unclear whether they changed the policy because of the social media backlash or because there was an error they detected.
In a speech given by then Gov. Ronald Reagan he says, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction.” Reagan believed Americans need to continue to fight for freedom and understand that it is not just assumed by inheritance.
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Shelby Lindsay is an assistant editor for Charisma Media.
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