PayPal Flops as Moral Police

In February 2012, PayPal drew criticism from the press and civil liberties groups when it threatened to kick book publishers off its platform unless they removed “offending literature” from their catalogs. Although the company claimed that its policy was merely a shield against legal action, its actions were seen as affecting a broad range of content, some of which was clearly legal. Faced with a barrage of criticism, PayPal narrowed its policy to focus more narrowly on illegal and liability-inducing material.