Square trying to de-bank our company for having disagreeable political views on our web site

NOT WOKE SHOWS | Apr 30 | NOT WOKE SHOWS

[kellymcneill]

I am the owner of notwokeshows.com which is a web site that allows people to find entertainment content (movies, tv shows, games, podcasts etc) that don't incorporate woke content.

We have a donation mechanism (connected to square credit card processing) that allows people to offer money if they found our service useful.

After having received an anonymous donation ($1) that (for some reason) raised a red flag in square's system by whomever it was that donated it, square was compelled to look more into our company and (most likely) the non-woke criteria we utilize to determine which shows get added to our database (https://www.notwokeshows.com/criteria) and square ultimately decided to shut down its association with us.

The email I received from square said,
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“We recently reviewed your account and found activity that our platform is unable to support. Because of this, we are sorry to inform you that your Square account is now deactivated.”
---

While I found their discontinuation problematic, square didn't just shut down their association with NOT WOKE SHOWS but seemingly communicated with all the major credit card companies to discontinue business with us as well.

Before finding out that this happened, I sought out a conservative credit card processing company so that I can continue to process donations without further issue and was fortunate to speak with the owner who liked what we're doing and wants to be of assistance to our cause.

He conveyed to me that it appears that square was seemingly working with all the major credit card companies to universally stop working with us... (to de-bank our company) and keep us from receiving any donations at all. Thankfully, he found a work-around which allowed us to continue receiving donations. We're in the process of incorporating that system now.

Square has since stated in a subsequent email,
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"Unfortunately, due to security reasons and the obligations of our agreements with card networks and other financial institutions, *Square Europe* [emphasis added] cannot reverse this decision and we are unable to provide additional details.
---

This indicates (to me) that the issue is most likely Square Europe to be utilizing the EU's “hate speech” laws to shut down payment processing from companies they perceive to be in violation of those laws that receive payments from anyone in the E.U. despite NOT WOKE SHOWS originating within the United States.

I don't believe that the initial dollar donation offered to us could have been from someone so nefarious that it would prompt a shut down of our account. That seems absurd. If it were, square could merely stop the transaction from being processed.

Though I have no proof, This suggests (to me) that someone WITHIN Square Europe who was aware of the EU's “hate speech" laws and the company's compliance with them took issue with our web site, donated a dollar specifically with the goal of shutting down our account and ultimately all credit card processing by pointing to THAT transaction as a violation to start the process of de-banking NOT WOKE SHOWS with other credit card companies.

[I want the USA back]

Since this administration isn’t doing anything about this, the only conclusion is that the administration fully agrees with it.

[spacejunkie2001]

I posted this on truth social and tagged k a s h Patel as he’s got a Patriots system set up for payments. Be sure to join truth social and post your story there. If you’re not on yet or you are on be sure you follow people I follow that have red check marks at least

[JSM_Liberty]

How does the site work

eg. I have been watching Sugar https://www.notwokeshows.com/show/Sugar

About halfway down the page I see
“Is it NOT WOKE or WOKE? Smash a button below.
30 Responses”

But I don’t see where those responses are (how did the 30 votes break down woke/not woke)

[Deplorable American1776]

I might start a Conservative version of Square, called Octangle. I will censor Marxist companies..🤓

[kellymcneill]

Hi JSM_Liberty,

a “response” is simply a “vote”. The vote system is merely an extension of DISQUS chat.

To see the results of that vote you either have to offer your own vote or be logged into a freely acquired DISQUS account.

[nickcarraway]

This is going to become a lot more common.

[kellymcneill]

I think you’re right. One solution if I wanted to continue working with square... (I don’t and will dissuade all my other company’s clients from doing so as well going forward) is to simply take donations from individuals residing within the U.S.

[kellymcneill]

only* take donations from individuals residing within the U.S.

[Organic Panic]

Play their game. Tell them you are an LBGTQWTF+IQBIPOC what ever and that you demand the reinstate the account of a proud trans muslim palestinian queer of color. Throw it right back in their faces. Then blast it out to all the LGBTWTF groups that they debanked you.

[ETCM]

Square doesn’t have the juice to influence the major CC companies. This happened above their level.

[smokingfrog]

Your Content

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You will not upload or provide Content or otherwise post, transmit, distribute, or disseminate through the Services any material that: (a) is false, misleading, unlawful, obscene, indecent, lewd, pornographic, defamatory, libelous, threatening, harassing, hateful, abusive, or inflammatory; (b) encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense or gives rise to civil liability; (c) breaches or infringes any duty toward or rights of any person or entity, including rights of publicity, privacy or Intellectual Property Rights; (d) contains corrupted data or any other harmful, disruptive, or destructive files; (e) advertises products or services competitive with Square’s or its partners’ products and services, as determined by us in our sole discretion; or (f) in our sole judgment, is objectionable, restricts or inhibits any person or entity from using or enjoying any portion of the Services, or which may expose Square, its affiliates or its customers or other persons to harm or liability of any nature.

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[kellymcneill]

You’re right in so far as the policies of de-banking stem from the credit card companies and square is just playing along. Free speech laws still protect U.S. citizens.

I only find it less probable for it to not have originated from square if only because the company could have simply told us to operate within the U.S. but they opted instead to stop the account altogether.

[kellymcneill]

“must not contain anything that we think is objectionable”

That’s pretty darn subjective and broad.

[kellymcneill]

We do that on our facebook LOL...

we say that we’re: Women-owned, Veteran-owned, Pacific Islander-owned, Minority-owned, Middle Eastern-owned, LGBTQ+ owned, Latin-owned, Indigenous-owned, Disabled-owned, Black-owned, Asian-owned

[smokingfrog]

No kidding.
About what you’d expect from Jack Dorsey.

[Fledermaus]

Don’t forget Left Handed Lesbian that played LaCrosse at Loyola

[Fledermaus]

Isn’t it discrimination ? Shouldn’t they lose their business?

[smokingfrog]

https://www.publicsquare.com/why-publicsquare-business

[MD Expat in PA]

$1 transactions on credit cards or debit cards often raise red flags. This is because if a scammer/hacker/fraudster has stolen a person’s cc or debit number, they will often put through a $1 charge as a test to see if the number and account is still good, and anonymous transactions or transactions originating from overseas but on a US cc or bank, can raise even more red flags with banks and cc processors.

And believe it or not there are unscrupulous retailers and online businesses that are knowing participants in the fraud. Not saying that’s you, but a CC processor could and should become suspicious of any fraudulent or potentially fraudulent transactions. But I would hope they would let you know this.

We have a donation mechanism (connected to square credit card processing) that allows people to offer money if they found our service useful.

Are you a non-profit or a business? You accept “donations” but you also “sell” advertising, and your site is crammed full of advertising so I guess I’m confused. How do you book these donations on your financials and tax returns? Are the “donations” booked as income?

Of course, you don’t have to answer this but I’m curious as in all my years in accounting, I’ve never dealt with a for profit company accepting customer donations.

While a for profit enterprise can accept “donations” you may want to read this.

https://ccsklaw.com/finding-additional-funding-can-my-small-business-accept-donations/

“Despite the important tax distinctions between offering a donation to a non-profit and offering a gift to a business, there is still nothing stopping a for-profit business from receiving or even asking for gifts. However, it is important to clarify to any gift-givers that they will not be able to write off their gift. Not specifying this could lead to legal trouble later on. There are many instances of organizations passing themselves off as real charities in an effort to receive “charity money,” don’t give any false implications about where your organization stands.”

If your “donation” page does not make it clear that the doner cannot write off their donation as a tax-deductible charitable gift, that can get you in trouble and make cc processors leery.

And the shows you feature have links to YouTube and streaming services. Have there been any copywrite complaints against you for this? You are after all monetizing the YouTube videos and links to streaming services links. Just curious as to how this works from your perspective. I admit I’m no expert in this area.