PayPal Bans Tor Supporter Larry Brandt

In March of 2021, PayPal banned Larry Brandt who, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, primarily used his account to fund Tor nodes. The EFF, whose report was published on June 2, communicated with PayPal and tried (fruitlessly) to get a more detailed explanation of why Brandt’s account was terminated:

We reached out to PayPal for clarification, to urge them to reinstate Brandt’s account, and to educate them about Tor and its value in promoting freedom and privacy globally. PayPal denied that the shutdown was related to the concerns about Tor, claiming only that “the situation has been determined appropriately” and refusing to offer a specific explanation. After several weeks, PayPal has still refused to reinstate Brandt’s account.

As is the case with other forms of internet censorship (particularly when government is involved, implicitly or explicitly), Brandt was banned suddenly and without the possibility for appeal:

Brandt’s account was shut down without notice, he was given no opportunity to appeal, and he was given no clarity on what actions resulted in his account being shut down, nor whether this was in relation to a violation of PayPal’s terms – and, if so, which part of those terms.