PayPal and Venmo deplatformed Gays Against Groomers with no warning. The organization is “a coalition of gays against the sexualization, indoctrination and medicalization of children.” In a Twitter statement, Gays Against Groomers called for a boycott of PayPal because an organization that supports “minor attracted persons” (MAPS) still has access to its account.
In 2019 Prostasia was banned from Twitter, however, they have since returned to the platform. According to the Prostasia website, “MAP Support Club (MSC) is a safe, chat-based peer-support network for teenagers and adults who self-identify as being attracted to younger minors.”
PayPal responded to the situation in an interview with The Advocate, a magazine for LGBTQ+ news.
“PayPal’s policy is not to allow our services to be used for activities that promote hate, violence, or discriminatory intolerance,” the spokesperson wrote. “We base our reviews of accounts on these parameters, taking action when we deem that individuals or organizations have violated this policy.”
Earlier this month, Gays Against Groomers sold merchandise with the slogan “What’s on your hard drive?” They used the name of a Clinical Instructor, Alejandra Caraballo, at Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic to sell the merchandise. Caraballo said the slogan implied she had illicit material because she was trans.
Jamie Michell, the lesbian founder of Gays Against Groomers gave her thoughts in an interview with Tucker Carlson.
“They say they took our account down for discriminatory behavior, but I think that’s exactly what they did to us.”
Google also banned the Gays Against Groomers account on the grounds of a “violation of of Google’s policies.”
At the same time Gays Against Groomers was banned on the platforms, a UK based organization “Us for Them” was also deplatformed and given the same message by PayPal. Us for Them was started in the wake of the pandemic to fight lockdowns and school closures affecting children.
A few days before banning the accounts, PayPal revoked its sponsorship of Robert Sarver, the owner of the NBA Phoenix Suns. The allegations were derived from Sarver’s use of the N-word.
"PayPal is a values-driven company and has a strong record of combatting racism, sexism, and all forms of discrimination,” PayPal CEO and President Dan Schulman wrote in a statement.
“We’re not transphobic, we don’t care what adults do. We literally just don’t want this happening to children,” Michell said.