Next time you’re clicking through one of those impossibly long and impenetrable legal disclaimers to a company’s terms of service, it may be time to have a closer look.
A new policy in PayPal’s fine print triggered a storm of outrage over apparent plans to impose, starting on Nov. 3, a hefty fine of $2,500 any time one of its 429 million consumers and merchants expressed what the corporate brass deems to be misinformation.
PayPal quickly apologized over the weekend for what it called “confusion”, claiming it was all just an error, but not before a a deluge of criticism from a number of high-profile individuals—including its own former president, David Marcus.
Marcus took to Twitter to say the new Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) was an “insanity” that forced him to come forward and criticize his previous employer, where he worked for three years from 2011 after former PayPal owner eBay acquired a company he founded and joined it with the payments service.
“PayPal’s new AUP goes against everything I believe in,” he posted on Saturday. “A private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with.”
Free speech advocates like Elon Musk, one of the entrepreneurs behind the founding of PayPal, as well as prominent conservative voices such as actor Kevin Sorbo, likewise blasted the plans.
The controversy comes as tensions run high over misinformation claims heading into next month important midterm elections in the United States, which could see the Repu ..
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