About this episode
The episode discusses the implications of financial censorship and how major banks and payment processors influence internet speech.
What if you woke up tomorrow and completely lost access to your bank account, credit cards, PayPal, and Venmo, all because of something you posted online? SUPPORT MY WORK: Buy a paid subscription to my newsletter at usermag.co Support my work on Patreon for bonus episodes, monthly Q&A livestreams, and more: http://patreon.com/taylorlorenz In this episode of Free Speech Friday, Rainey Reitman, advisor at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and author of the new book "Transaction Denied" joins me to dive deep into the terrifying reality of financial censorship and how major banks and payment processors are quietly becoming the ultimate gatekeepers of internet speech. Reitman reveals how a handful of massive financial institutions are bypassing the First Amendment to act as privatized censors, deciding what journalism you can support, what political nonprofits you can donate to, and what ideas are considered "misinformation." From the early financial blockade of WikiLeaks to recent debanking scandals involving independent journalists and nonpartisan advocacy groups, this hidden digital infrastructure controls your life more than you realize. SUPPORT…
People in this episode
Host: Taylor Lorenz
Guest: Rainey Reitman
Topics covered
- financial censorship
- internet speech
- payment processors
- First Amendment
- independent journalism
Keywords
- financial censorship
- internet speech
- payment processors
- First Amendment
- independent journalism
- Rainey Reitman
- Transaction Denied
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Electronic Frontier Foundation, WikiLeaks
Books & works: Transaction Denied
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