Protest PayPal's freezing account of the Bradley Manning Support Network

Just got this letter:

Sara -

PayPal just froze the account of the Bradley Manning Support Network, a group raising funds for the legal defense of alleged Wikileaks source Pfc. Bradley Manning. The group can no longer accept donations through PayPal, or access the money in its account.

The Bradley Manning Support Network didn’t do anything illegal. PayPal even admits there’s no legal reason to shut down the group’s account; it’s an “internal policy decision.”

We need to stand with other Bradley Manning supporters. Can you sign your name to our letter to PayPal demanding the company restore service to the Bradley Manning Support Network?

Tell PayPal to drop its unreasonable demands of the Bradley Manning Support Network and restore access to the group’s PayPal account. Click here to sign our letter.

PayPal’s decision to purposefully block funds to help Bradley Manning is no accident. Two months ago, PayPal also arbitrarily blocked donations to Wikileaks.

Just days after PayPal blocked service to Wikileaks, PayPal executives apparently began a campaign to find excuses to block funds for the Bradley Manning Support Network. The group says its leaders:

“...fielded lengthy calls from executives at PayPal regarding website content, the intended use of the funds being solicited in support of Bradley Manning, and accountings of the recent purchases (primarily envelopes, paper, and postage stamps) made with PayPal funds.”

Even this wasn’t good enough for PayPal, which decided that the only way to allow the Bradley Manning Support Network to use PayPal would be to give the company direct access to its checking account - an extraordinary and unreasonable demand.

Sign our letter to PayPal: stop blocking funds and restore access to Bradley Manning’s legal defense fund.

Thank you for standing up for Bradley Manning.

Michael Whitney
Firedoglake.com

I went to sign the letter and was treated to this great news: https://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/20...-defense-fund/
I quickly donated via credit card.
Thanks for passing this along!

I got an email from PayPal yesterday ("You've been selected: access to private boutiques") and I answered that I wouldn't use PayPal again, unless they restored the Bradley Manning account....

The Rest of the Story
Source: https://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/20...-defense-fund/

Just hours after it was revealed that PayPal had frozen the account of the Bradley Manning Support Network, a group raising funds for alleged Wikileaker Pfc. Bradley Manning, the payment processing giant backed down after public pressure to restore access to the account.

In just 8 hours, more than 15,000 Firedoglake activists signed a letter to PayPal demanding the company “drop its unreasonable demands of the Bradley Manning Support Network and restore access to the group’s PayPal account.” Here’s how Jeff Paterson, Project Director of Courage to Resist and member of the Bradley Manning Support Network’s steering committee, described the victory:

We have spent nearly a month trying to resolve this matter with senior PayPal staff. Only after a conference call in which their chief compliance officer bluntly stated that our account would be permanently restricted and our funds returned in 180 days did we issue this morning’s statement on the matter.

I little while ago I received an email from the PayPal machine, “Hello Courage to Resist, Our review is complete and we have restored your account.” Upon logging into the PayPal account, we’re now greeted with, “Your Account Access is Back in Regular Standing. Thank you for taking the steps to return your account to regular standing…”

Thank you to all of our supporters – many of whom contacted PayPal individually or signed the petition hosted by Firedoglake – who helped us restore our account. We are extremely grateful to everyone who raised their voice today. While PayPal was never a primary channel for our online donors, it is especially valuable to our international supporters who do not use US-based credit cards or checks. I hope you will now help us get back to our real work in support of accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning.

Paterson had words of warning for any organization using PayPal:

PayPal insisted on excessive measures for the soldier’s support organization to retain access to PayPal’s services, “They opted to apply an exceptional hurdle for us to clear in order to continue as a customer, whereas we had clearly provided the legally required information and verification. I think our dealings with PayPal should be a cautionary tale for any possibly controversial not-for-profit entity with a PayPal account,” Paterson said. “While there may be no legal obligation to provide services, there is an ethical obligation. By shutting out legitimate nonprofit activity, PayPal has shown itself to be morally bankrupt.”

This is an incredible victory for Bradley Manning, and for supporters of a free and open debate on Manning and Wikileaks. Thank you to everyone who took action with Firedoglake. You can donate toBradley’s legal defense fund, as well as donate to the Bradley Manning Advocacy Fund, new public advocacy effort to support Bradley’s case in the media.

Her name is Chelsea - she's transitioning to female and the organization is now Pvt. Manning Support Network.
Congrats on your victory with PayPal - i hope lots of people continue to contribute to Pvt. Manning's defense.:waccosun:

Quote:

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Posted in reply to the post by ronliskey:

The Rest of the Story
Source: https://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/20...-defense-fund/

Just hours after it was revealed that PayPal had frozen the account of the Bradley Manning Support Network, a group raising funds for alleged Wikileaker Pfc. Bradley Manning, the payment processing giant backed down after public pressure to restore access to the account.

In just 8 hours, more than 15,000 Firedoglake activists signed a letter to PayPal demanding the company “drop its unreasonable demands of the Bradley Manning Support Network and restore access to the group’s PayPal account.” Here’s how Jeff Paterson, Project Director of Courage to Resist and member of the Bradley Manning Support Network’s steering committee, described the victory:

We have spent nearly a month trying to resolve this matter with senior PayPal staff. Only after a conference call in which their chief compliance officer bluntly stated that our account would be permanently restricted and our funds returned in 180 days did we issue this morning’s statement on the matter.

I little while ago I received an email from the PayPal machine, “Hello Courage to Resist, Our review is complete and we have restored your account.” Upon logging into the PayPal account, we’re now greeted with, “Your Account Access is Back in Regular Standing. Thank you for taking the steps to return your account to regular standing…”

Thank you to all of our supporters – many of whom contacted PayPal individually or signed the petition hosted by Firedoglake – who helped us restore our account. We are extremely grateful to everyone who raised their voice today. While PayPal was never a primary channel for our online donors, it is especially valuable to our international supporters who do not use US-based credit cards or checks. I hope you will now help us get back to our real work in support of accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower Bradley Manning.

Paterson had words of warning for any organization using PayPal:

PayPal insisted on excessive measures for the soldier’s support organization to retain access to PayPal’s services, “They opted to apply an exceptional hurdle for us to clear in order to continue as a customer, whereas we had clearly provided the legally required information and verification. I think our dealings with PayPal should be a cautionary tale for any possibly controversial not-for-profit entity with a PayPal account,” Paterson said. “While there may be no legal obligation to provide services, there is an ethical obligation. By shutting out legitimate nonprofit activity, PayPal has shown itself to be morally bankrupt.”

This is an incredible victory for Bradley Manning, and for supporters of a free and open debate on Manning and Wikileaks. Thank you to everyone who took action with Firedoglake. You can donate toBradley’s legal defense fund, as well as donate to the Bradley Manning Advocacy Fund, new public advocacy effort to support Bradley’s case in the media.

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