“Build your own payment processor” they said, while grinning nefariously through soy-stained teeth. Well, the owners of Gab did just that.
On September 19th, 2019 the official Gab Twitter account announced that they have a new payment processor setup for their premium services.
“Build your own payment processor”
Okay.https://t.co/jfCwRr21Vy pic.twitter.com/2uxyQThQ4o
— Gab.com (@getongab) September 19, 2019
This comes after years of forcing Conservatives and Right wingers out of social media services and deplatforming them from payment processors, usually being done under the FDIC’s illegal “Operation Choke Point” initiative.
Credit companies like MasterCard and financial institutions like PayPal and Chase have been banning people from their services, including Hacker News, the leader of the Proud Boys, and comic book creator Martina Markota.
Gab’s solution doesn’t necessarily address the issue some of the aforementioned individuals or groups have faced, but it is a step in the right direction for the stonewalling that Leftists have thrown up in defending deplatforming and censorship.
Usually when someone would be banned, censored, or refused services, they would claim “They’re a private corporation and they don’t have to service you! Build your own platform!”
Gab did just that by making a Twitter equivalent, which was attacked and demonetized by payment processors and domain hosts. They eventually went decentralized to avoid all of the troubles that typically comes with hosting. They also built their own browser, Dissenter, after Google and Apple conspired against them to ban the Dissenter app from being on their browser app stores.
Receiving funds was still difficult, however, so they decided to build their own payment processor so they wouldn’t have to rely on ideologically driven services like PayPal and credit card companies. You can sign up for Gab’s premium service using Bitcoins, snail mail, or e-check processing.
This could be the first step in allowing disenfranchised people to finally step away from the current totalitarian setup that governs the existing payment processing and social media oligarchy.
(Thanks for the news tip durka durka)