PayPal backs off from attack on Pamela Gellar

Sadie got word to me that PayPal has retreated from its attempt to shut down Pamela Gellar’s websites, each of which is aimed at exposing Islamic (and other) totalitarianism.  As Gellar says, though, conservatives cannot get complacent:

The little money that my organization Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) and the Freedom Defense Initiative (FDI), as well as my website AtlasShrugs.com, generate came close to being cut off Friday when Paypal called all three websites “hate” sites. The leading online payment service said it would close my accounts if I do not act first and remove the Paypal option from each website. After an avalanche of emails from Atlas readers, PayPal reversed itself and said the whole thing had been a mistake; but the implications of the incident for conservatives remain ominous.

Paypal sent me a notice Friday saying that “after a recent review of your account, it has been determined that you are currently in violation of PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy. Under the Acceptable Use Policy, PayPal may not be used to send or receive payments for items that promote hate, violence, racial intolerance or the financial exploitation of a crime.”

SIOA is an advocacy group devoted to defending the freedom of speech, the freedom of conscience and the equality of rights of all people. Atlas Shrugs is a news site and a political blog. I am not responsible for the bad news in the world. I just report on it.

So for PayPal, defending American values and reporting the news accurately had become “hate.” Truth is the new hate speech.

Read the rest here.