PayPal Suspends Ku Klux Klan Fundraising Account Flagged By Social Media Activist
SAN JOSE (CBS Local) -- PayPal suspended a Ku Klux Klan fundraising account last week after it was criticized for allowing the white supremacist and antisemitic group to accept donations through its service, according to BBC News.
PayPal suspended the account used by the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan on Friday, six days after it was first flagged by activists on social media, the British news outlet reported.
The San Jose-based company had pledged two years ago to "evaluate all sites" that used its service to fund the KKK and other organizations advocating racist views.
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"Oh cool you can donate to the KKK with @PayPal," Nandini Jammi of the social media activism organization Sleeping Giants tweeted on Aug. 24. "@AskPayPal can you explain this?"
"I have tons of concerns that PayPal is not able to act quickly and decisively on hate groups," Jammi told BBC News.
"There are some examples of them acting in a fairly timely manner," she added. "But they're not applying [their anti-hate policy] in a consistent enough manner."
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PayPal said it cannot comment on any specific customer's account "due to our legal and data protection obligations," but said "we carefully review accounts to ensure our services are used in line with our acceptable use policy and take action as appropriate."
"We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hate, violence, or other forms of intolerance that are discriminatory," said a PayPal spokesman.
The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan had promoted the account via a donation page on its website. It said it was seeking funds to help pay for the postage of newsletters and other materials to its supporters and to organize public rallies.
