Thursday 22 September 2022 06:26 PM Now PayPal cancels account of parents group that fought to keep schools open ... trends now
A parents group which fought hard to keep schools open during Covid is the latest vocal group to have their account cancelled by financial technology giant PayPal.
UsForThem was 'shocked' to discover that it could not access thousands of pounds of donated money after PayPal suspended its account 'in accordance with' the company's user agreement.
Just last week, The Telegraph reported that the technology giant, co-founded by Elon Musk, had controversially shut the accounts of Toby Young's Free Speech Union as well as his news website, the Daily Sceptic.
Musk, who made around $175.8million after PayPal was sold to eBay, has since been trying to buy social media giant Twitter as he looks to promote 'free speech'.
But in the latest backlash that PayPal has faced, MPs have hit back insisting that financial technology firms should not lock people out of accounts based on 'perfectly legal political views'.
At Business Questions, Conservative MP for Devizes Danny Kruger asked: 'Does she share my deep concern about the decision of PayPal, the online payments company, to cancel the accounts of certain organisations including Us for Them, who campaigned against the Covid lockdowns, and perhaps most ironically the Free Speech Union, who appear to have been targeted because of their views on sex and gender.
Mr Kruger added that as society is moving towards a cashless economy, financial technology firms will form part of the 'essential infrastructure of ordinary life.'
He added: 'Will the Government take steps to ensure they cannot discriminate against individuals or organisations on the basis of perfectly legal political views?'
Co-founder of Us For Them Molly Kingsley (pictured) said the group who campaigned for schools to stay open during Covid were 'taken aback' by PayPal's decision to cancel their account which had donations in it
Toby Young (pictured), founder of the Free Speech Union and news and opinion website the Daily Sceptic, has also fallen victim to having his PayPal account cancelled
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt replied: 'He may have further information than I do about why PayPal have cancelled the account and that facility from the organisations that he mentions, but from what I understand the Free Speech Union and other organisations are also still in the dark about exactly why they have had those services removed from them despite making great efforts to find out.'
Ms Mordaunt described the unexplained withdrawal of services by companies as a 'common theme amongst our casework' for many MPs.
Arabella Skinner, director of UsForThem told MailOnline: 'We were really shocked to receive the email from Paypal and given that it has taken the same aggressive and penal action against a number of prominent non-profit advocacy, campaigning and journalistic groups in the UK it gives the distinct impression that this was a politically motivated coup against campaigning groups who had taken a particular view on
