By Senad Karaahmetovic
In response to widespread criticism the company received for its policy change, PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) walked back on a published policy that foresaw fining users $2,500 for spreading “misinformation.”
The company’s former CEO David Marcus blasted PYPL on Twitter after the fintech giant updated its policy to allow itself to withdraw funds from accounts of users who spread misinformation.
“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,” he said Saturday.
“A private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with. Insanity.”
Elon Musk replied, “Agreed,” in a comment. The backlash got so fierce that "BoycottPayPal" was a trending topic on Twitter over the weekend.
PayPal is now backtracking as the acceptable use policy (AUP) notice “went out in error that included incorrect information.”
“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 in a written statement.
PayPal shares are down nearly 4% in pre-open Monday.