PayPal has suspended an account that was used to raise money for the Ku Klux Klan, according to a report. The account was promoted to a page organized by The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, BBC News reported.
The white advocacy group said the donation will be used to send newsletters and other materials it sends to supporters and to organize public rallies.
The screenshot of the donation page was posted on Twitter by Nandini Jammi, who works for the activist group Sleeping Giants, and was then shared across the online platform by other users. “Oh cool you can donate to the @PayPal,” Jammi tweeted on August 24. “@AskPayPal can you explain this?; (PayPal can you explain what this means?)” The post was also shared by the main Twitter account of the activist group Sleeping Giant and the Canadian anti-hate group NoPlace2Hate.
The social media outcry eventually caught the attention of PayPal, which suspended the account. The page now contains a notice saying the recipient “cannot receive money at this time,” the BBC reported. Jammi said that despite PayPal’s eventual suspension of the account, she is concerned that the company is not equipped to handle such incidents in the future.
PayPal has pledged to “evaluate all ways and associations with the company that may promote hatred and violence.” A PayPal spokesperson issued a statement to the BBC regarding the account linked to the Ku Klux Klan.
“Due to our legal and data protection obligations, we cannot comment on any specific PayPal customer accounts,” the statement said. “We carefully review accounts to ensure that our services are being used in accordance with our Acceptable Use Policy and take appropriate action.”
“We do not allow PayPal services to be used to promote hatred, violence, or other forms of discriminatory intolerance,” the spokesperson added.
