PayPal backs down over Free Speech Union account
The latest development in the ongoing 'PayPal-gate' story is that the fintech giant has now reversed its decision and apologized for closing the Free Speech Union's account.
The FSU tweeted news of the decision yesterday evening following several days of people closing down their accounts and the stirring up of a political storm with questions asked in the UK parliament.
This comes following a similar change of heart over the account of parents' campaign group UsForThem a few days ago.
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The FSU's founder Toby Young writes in The Spectator that his personal account along with that of The Daily Sceptic -- another site he's involved with -- have been reinstated too. He also says he won't be using PayPal again and will continue to lobby for a change in the law to prevent accounts being shut down for political reasons.
In a statement PayPal says, "We have continued to review the information and we take seriously the input from our customers and stakeholders. Based on these ongoing reviews, we have made the decision to reinstate these accounts. We will continue to work hard to protect freedom of expression, our customers, and our platform."
It's hard not to read 'input' here as being code for account closures, complaints and bad publicity. It'll be interesting to see if this has an impact on the company's policies in the longer term.
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