PayPal terminates domain to de-platform conservative voices. The company has decided to terminate its services with domain registrar Epik. According to Mashable, this is reportedly due to a risk of money laundering through its “alternative currency” called Masterbucks.
However, in a series of open letters, Robert Davis, Epik’s senior vice president of strategy and communications suggested that the agenda behind the move is to de-platform conservative voices. Among other far-right websites, Epik offers domain services for Gab and the Proud People. The Proud Boys domain was recently spoofed, supposedly by Iran, to send threatening emails to Democratic voters.
The Masterbucks currency is presented as Epik’s solution to an “absence of conventional liquidity,” which it claims is “one of the largest structural challenges affecting the domain industry today.” The currency can be used inside the Epik network for purchases or converted to U.S. dollars. The tax benefits of the currency are also promoted by an archived version of Epik’s Masterbucks website, but this has since been deleted.
An unnamed source quoted by Mashable reported that the legal criteria for operating such a currency had not been met by Epik and was facilitating tax evasion. About a month ago, PayPal reportedly told Epik of the problems and tried to come up with a solution before eventually terminating the account.
[image: The Daily Hive]
