Unless I am mistaken – news reports are contradictory on the topic – PayPal froze Wikileaks' account. To clarify here: If PayPal had only stopped Wikileaks' ability to receive future donations this would be the private company's choice. A private company has the option to do business with a person or entity, or not. However, freezing the account and not allowing Wikileaks representatives on the account to withdraw the funds in the account that were there prior to this decision by the company changes the game, at least for me.
I am a firm believer in the right of a private business to act as it so desires within the law. In the PayPal situation it seems that the company has already decided that Wikileaks broke laws and froze the account based on this mistaken assessment. The PayPal statement is found HERE:
PayPal has permanently restricted the account used by WikiLeaks due to a violation of the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy, which states that our payment service cannot be used for any activities that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity. We’ve notified the account holder of this action.
So while PayPal would be correct if funds that were collected prior to the decision were released, placing the Wikileaks account in limbo and funds inaccessible to Wikileaks representatives because of some perceived illegal activity is outrageous. No one connected to Wikileaks has been charged with any crime in relation to the business of the company in publishing the cables and accepting donations.
NEXT: Why I Support Julian Assange
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