UK Government blocks denial of service & fines for users, levied due to political views (PayPal)

Hi ATS,

As you will doubtless recall, a year ago PayPal tried to deny service to users who were connected to the truckers' protest in Canada, but this was extended to persons who had merely expressed sympathy with the truckers, who tried to donate money to the truckers via the payment platform. Not only did they try to deny service, they actually tried to fine users up to £2,500 ($3,000 approximately) for merely offering their support to the truckers.

Well, back then PayPal hastily reversed course on that policy decision when there was a massive uproar about the move, and they reimbursed people within a couple of weeks, pretending at the time that it had been some sort of mix-up, which none of us believed, it was very clear that if they had thought they could get away with it, that policy decision would have stood, and perhaps only a very costly legal challenge would have reversed their course at that point. Thankfully, we had the numbers in support of common sense & critical reasoning - PayPal clearly thought they had the numbers, they most assuredly did not.

As with many efforts at censure & punitive action against conservative voices & protests in the last few years, they (PayPal) were deluded into believing they had the numbers almost certainly as a direct result of web bots on Twitter providing the illusion of a smorgasboard of popular support across multiple demographics on social media. Once Twitter was effectively shut down & restarted by Musk, it became clear that it was an entirely illusory echo chamber populated mainly by those pesky bots.

However, we must not lose sight of the fact that when PayPal took the action they did originally, they were almost certainly encouraged to do so by organisations including the World Economic Forum. I don't doubt WEF involvement, it fits their 'modus operandi', and so the danger isn't over, they will probably continue pushing their woke liberal propaganda, preparing for the day they really will have the numbers for popular support of their idiotic, woke, globalist, nonsense liberal ideology, when they really will be able to shut down popular support for conservative protestors who are demanding an end to the dangerous & deceitful COVID & climate change shenanigans. So we must stay vigilant, and we must continue to counsel the next generation regarding the dangers they will find themselves exposed to if they go along with anything connected to the present WEF-associated ultra-liberal BS.

Here's the official UK Government reaction to the PayPal censure nonsense - in this situation, we have won a (temporary) official reprieve, but as noted, I believe they will continue to try to create conditions in which the decision of PayPal would have been allowed to stand, when people would have lost a great deal of money in fines levied by PayPal, and the Truckers' Protest would have been starved of oxygen due to an inability to raise donations. Remember also that the Canadian government did in fact behave in an exactly comparable & punitive manner by shutting down the protestors' bank accounts, so the danger is far from over.

Dear [Constituent]

Thank you for contacting me last year about PayPal closing the accounts of several organisations, including the Free Speech Union, and about a proposed new clause to the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Please accept my apologies for my delayed reply on this matter.

I understand that PayPal said the accounts had been closed down because the organisations in question had broken its acceptable use policy. However, as you will know, after several days PayPal said it would reinstate the closed accounts and apologised for the inconvenience caused. It said this was based on ongoing review of information and feedback from customers and stakeholders. It has further said that none of its evaluations and actions in initially closing the accounts were based on customers’ political views.

As you know, at the Financial Services and Markets Bill’s Report Stage, a new clause was tabled setting out that no payment service provider would be able to refuse to supply that service to a customer in the UK on the basis of the customer exercising their right to freedom of expression. It would have enabled the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to fine or censure a provider breaching this rule. This clause was not called to a vote and did not make it into the Bill.

I understand that the FCA engaged with PayPal over this issue soon after the suspension of the accounts. It says that following the swift reinstatement of the accounts, no further action was taken but that the issue may be considered in further supervisory or authorisation discussions with PayPal.

The Government says it believes the FCA’s approach in this case is consistent with its wider approach to investigation and enforcement proceedings. It further says it believes the example of PayPal does not appear, at this stage, to indicate a problem with the existing legislative framework for payment services. However, it has said it plans to take evidence on the issue as part of a statutory review of the Payment Services Regulations. It says that if the evidence does point to the need for legislative change, it will be able to deliver this quickly via powers taken in the Bill in relation to modifying retained EU law. It says it will update Parliament following the evidence-gathering work through the Payment Services Review.

I can assure you that I will continue to monitor developments on this issue. Thank you once again for contacting me.

Yours sincerely,


[YOUR MINISTER OF PARLIAMENT]

So the UK Government position is clearly much more strongly in our favour than that of the Canadian Government. And yet we are close allies, so we can assume this is entirely based on the level of support in each nation's populace for the woke liberal ideology which risks so much of our freedom. I hope we can celebrate this victory, while remaining ever vigilant.

Cheers,


FITO.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

it seems unlike the rest of the anglosphere the UK, notably England has a strong history of having non compliant voters.. Brexit was carried as much on the left/right as by liberals and greens.. all the main parties where split roughly the same on these topics while the cultural war topics provide yet more bridges for all sides to meet, mingle and moan. covid yet another..

in that vain the conservatives on the one hand want to be true to themselves as good progressives but fall way short as their voters and members will hold them to account , so they are doing as much but also as little as they can.. they totally symbolise the meaning of being rudderless..

the uk has been heading for this since 2007/8 as each vote became yet an ever bigger protest vote, there is space for a new party to pick up between 25 and 35% of the vote picking the right topics..

in the meanwhile the conservative 9in name) party will continue to haemorrhage voters, activists and donors.. this was how the party of liberal progressives died in the 1922/23..

a reply to: nickyw

Indeed, I believe there are murmurings of a new party or three forming as we speak, it will be interesting to see who is left standing after the initial partying is done!

The 'Peoples Party' have some promising policies, such as their crime & policing goals:

Crime & policing policies - The People's Party

Through dramatically improved education and encouragement to business, give the skills and create the opportunities so that crime is not seen as an economically attractive option.

Provide improved mental care services to help those who are vulnerable to criminal activity.

Introduce new measures to deter and prevent crime, targeting those groups who are most likely to commit crime
require a massive improvement in police performance and clear up rates. Abysmal results should not be acceptable.

Completely remodel policing to reflect the changing nature of crime. Create a national police force within the BDF to work with intelligence services to target serious offences, organised crime and fraud, with local policing being much closer to the communities they serve.

Create a single Emergency Service, merging local police, fire and ambulance services and encourage personnel to multi-task, to provide a first responder service while preserving necessary specialisms.

Within the Emergency Service establish networks of local volunteers, akin to the lifeboat, coastguard and retained fire services, to provide an immediate response to reports of antisocial behaviour and criminal activity.

Introduce a zero tolerance approach to “minor” crime such as graffiti and bike theft.

Allow people to claim compensation if they are victims of crime and incentivise police officers to keep claims as low as possible.

Use new technology selectively and effectively to target criminal activity.

Cut the prison population by doing everything possible to avoid having to send people to prison in the first place.

Decriminalise drugs, treating use as a medical and social problem. People should not have to resort to crime to secure drugs.

Fundamentally change the criminal justice system to ensure that career criminals are not released from prison to commit new crimes.

Set up a rehabilitation scheme for those prisoners who promise not to re-offend to give them one chance to “go straight”.

Create “a wipe the slate clean” option for first time offenders, avoiding giving people criminal records that can blight their prospects.

Look for a significant long term reduction in the cost of law and order as our policies cut crime and the need for the “criminal justice industry”.

Provide an accessible route for justice that enables ordinary people to bring civil actions without incurring massive costs.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

nice, as ex libdem I've been looking at the SDP a the closest option.. that or become a paper spoiler

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

Sounds like they wanted to keep this particular "arrow" in their quiver but kiss the rear of the people who were ticked off at this blatant abuse of freedom of speech. As Elon Musk proved the Leftist, Marxist, Socialist, and Communist types really want to squelch those who oppose them. Defund, shadow ban, and all the dirty tricks.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

I actually looked further into the People's Party after stumbling across their rather poor website, and I discovered that they are actually quite lefty-liberal in their ideology. For one thing they want to rejoin the European Union - which is never going to happen.

I looked then at the 'REFORM UK' party, and I must say they are truly excellent, a fantastic libertarian approach which could really resolve the # we're facing.

Please also see my thread on the REFORM UK party, which can be found here:

An antidote to the New World Order... A new political party + innovation.. a UK exemplar?

I read the full manifesto & the emergency recovery plan for our healthcare system, and both are absolutely stellar, funded in innovative ways which would really work. It's a bold strategy, but the nation is ready for bold action to resolve the horrendous problems we're facing after twelve years of Tory misrule.

Please have a proper read of the source documents, they're truly excellent. If you live in the UK, consider supporting them, they'd be a damn sight better than Labour, Liberal Democrats or Tories at this stage. I'll be voting for them, no doubt whatsoever. Time for a breath of fresh air.

They will basically totally oppose the World Economic Forum's policy directives, which is exactly what we need.

FITO.

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment


Hate to say it to scare anyone but I really feel like this is why the UK doesn't have much of a future in the world. Anyone standing up for the rights of free peoples will be 'sacked' before long. The world is changing and it's world leaders are seemingly making a mess of things - seemingly on purpose.

This makes me feel something dire is in the air and on the way. Wouldn't surprise me if Russia takes it off the planetary map for 'some reason'.