PayPal Clarifies Misinterpretation of Acceptable Use Policy

Two weeks after a widely reported furor over reports of a policy that threatened to fine users for sharing what the company determined to be misinformation, PayPal has issued a statement clarifying its position on “appropriate behavior” and fines.

In a statement emailed to PYMNTS, the California-based FinTech said, “PayPal’s long-standing Acceptable Use Policy serves to help protect customers and our payments platform against illicit and fraudulent activity,” noting that it remained dedicated to providing safe financial services to people of all backgrounds.

“To be clear, PayPal does not fine customers for AUP violations,” it said. “In some situations, sellers may be liable for damages associated with payment ecosystem and investigatory costs when sellers engage in activities that violate the AUP, like fraud, counterfeiting or other illegal activity.

While the company said the policy is not, it also stressed that its intentions have not changed either, the statement added.

PayPal apologized on Oct. 10 for what it said was “confusion” over a policy that had caused widespread criticism over the prior weekend, including an Oct. 8 tweet by PayPal’s former president, David Marcus, saying the company’s new AUP was “insanity.”

Read more: PayPal Apologizes for Threat of Fines Over ‘Misinformation’

Amid the widespread criticism, there were also calls on Twitter for users to “Delete PayPal.”

A PayPal spokesperson told PYMNTS at the time that the company sent the AUP notice out in error, and that it included incorrect information.

“PayPal is not fining people for misinformation and this language was never intended to be inserted in our policy,” the spokesperson said. “We’re sorry for the confusion this has caused.”

Google searches for the phrase “Delete PayPal” have risen this week after plummeting in the first week after initial media reports of the controversy.

After spiking to their highest level of the year (a value of 100) during the week of Oct. 9 to 15, searches for “Delete PayPal” plunged to a value of 16 the week of Oct. 16 to 22. However, as this was written, they have stepped up to a value of 24 in the incomplete data for the week of Oct. 23 to 29, according to a search on Google Trends.