PayPal to pull services from sites linked to hate, violence, intolerance
Payments giant PayPal will be rescinding its services from sites that accept payments or raise funds to promote hate, violence, and intolerance in response to Saturday's events in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"Regardless of the individual or organisation in question, we work to ensure that our services are not used to accept payments or donations for activities that promote hate, violence, or racial intolerance," the company said in a statement.
"This includes organisations that advocate racist views, such as the KKK, white supremacist groups, or Nazi groups."
In the statement penned by PayPal's SVP of Corporate Affairs & Communications Franz Paasche, the company said it is dedicated to providing financial services to people with a diversity of views and from all walks of life, but is striving to navigate the balance between freedom of expression and open dialogue.
However, PayPal said it remains "vigilant and committed" to ensuring that its platforms are not used to perpetuate hate or intolerance.
"We recognise and work to navigate the fine lines that exist in these situations, and our teams do their best to distinguish between opinion-based, offensive websites and those that go beyond opinion and discourse and violate our policies," Paasche wrote.
"Lives lost due to hatred and intolerance are a tragedy for every person in our nation. The PayPal community was appalled by the events that transpired -- and our hearts go out to the people of Charlottesville and all who have been touched by this unacceptable hatred and violence."
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was yesterday the third company chief to depart from United States President Donald Trump's American Manufacturing Council in the wake of the recent violence in Charlottesville.
Writing in a blog post, Krzanich said he was leaving to "call attention" to the fractured political environment in the United States.
"Politics and political agendas have sidelined the important mission of rebuilding America's manufacturing base," he wrote.
"I have already made clear my abhorrence at the recent hate-spawned violence in Charlottesville, and earlier today I called on all leaders to condemn the white supremacists and their ilk who marched and committed violence.
"I resigned because I want to make progress, while many in Washington seem more concerned with attacking anyone who disagrees with them."
The departure of Krzanich follows the earlier resignations of Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank and Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier.
Plank said he was resigning due to the president's initial response to the Charlottesville protests.
His resignation came even after Trump made a statement on Monday explicitly calling out hate groups, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists, for their role in the unrest.
Plank said on Twitter that he was resigning "to focus on inspiring and uniting through power of sport".
Earlier in the day, Frazier said that he was stepping down in protest.
With three CEOs cutting ties with Trump through his council, it was reported on Wednesday that Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell will remain on board.
"While we wouldn't comment on any council members' personal decisions, there's no change in Dell engaging with the Trump administration and governments around the world to share our perspective on policy issues that affect our company, customers and employees," a Dell spokeswoman is quoted as telling Axios.