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| PayPal says US advised it to stop Wikileaks payments | PayPal says US advised it to stop Wikileaks payments |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| PayPal has said that its decision to stop users from using its service to make donations to Wikileaks was made after advice from the US government. | PayPal has said that its decision to stop users from using its service to make donations to Wikileaks was made after advice from the US government. |
| A senior official at the online payments firm said the State Department had told it that the activities of the website were illegal in the US. | A senior official at the online payments firm said the State Department had told it that the activities of the website were illegal in the US. |
| PayPal suspended payments to Wikileaks last week, and has been followed by Visa Europe and Mastercard. | PayPal suspended payments to Wikileaks last week, and has been followed by Visa Europe and Mastercard. |
| However, a State Department official denied that it had contacted Paypal. | However, a State Department official denied that it had contacted Paypal. |
| US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip Crowley tweeted: "The US government did not write to PayPal requesting any action regarding #WikiLeaks. Not true." | US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip Crowley tweeted: "The US government did not write to PayPal requesting any action regarding #WikiLeaks. Not true." |
| PayPal's comments came from the firm's vice-president Osama Bedier at a conference. | PayPal's comments came from the firm's vice-president Osama Bedier at a conference. |
| He said the company had carried out its actions after receiving a letter from the State Department, adding that it was a "straightforward" decision. | He said the company had carried out its actions after receiving a letter from the State Department, adding that it was a "straightforward" decision. |
| PayPal is owned by US online auction giant eBay. | PayPal is owned by US online auction giant eBay. |
| Legal threat | Legal threat |
| Amazon, Swiss bank PostFinance, Visa Europe and Mastercard have all cut ties with Wikileaks. | |
| On Tuesday, Mastercard said that it was suspending payments to Wikileaks "until the situation is resolved". | On Tuesday, Mastercard said that it was suspending payments to Wikileaks "until the situation is resolved". |
| This was followed by Visa Europe on Wednesday, which said it would be carrying out an investigation into the whistle-blowing website. | This was followed by Visa Europe on Wednesday, which said it would be carrying out an investigation into the whistle-blowing website. |
| Visa Europe said it wanted to determine whether the nature of Wikileaks' business "contravenes Visa operating rules". | Visa Europe said it wanted to determine whether the nature of Wikileaks' business "contravenes Visa operating rules". |
| Both companies are now facing the threat of legal action from the IT company that enables Wikileaks to accept credit and debit card donations. | Both companies are now facing the threat of legal action from the IT company that enables Wikileaks to accept credit and debit card donations. |
| Swiss-based Datacell said it would move immediately to try to force Visa Europe and Mastercard to resume allowing payments to the whistle-blowing website. | Swiss-based Datacell said it would move immediately to try to force Visa Europe and Mastercard to resume allowing payments to the whistle-blowing website. |
| href="http://www.datacell.com/news.php" >Datacell claimed in its statement that Visa had come under political pressure and had "put priority on political influence over the law". | |
| It added that the credit card companie's actions were harming both Datacell and Wikileaks. | |
| A spokeswoman for Visa Europe said it would not be making any comment regarding Datacell at this time. Mastercard has also yet to make a statement on the matter. | |
| Mastercard has, however, commented on claims that pro-Wikileaks internet hackers had brought down its website. | Mastercard has, however, commented on claims that pro-Wikileaks internet hackers had brought down its website. |
| Mastercard said there was "no impact" on people's ability to use their cards for transactions. | Mastercard said there was "no impact" on people's ability to use their cards for transactions. |
| Datacell's chief executive Andreas Fink urged Visa to "just simply do their business where they are good at - transferring money". | Datacell's chief executive Andreas Fink urged Visa to "just simply do their business where they are good at - transferring money". |
| Datacell added that the suspension would last for an initial seven days, but this has yet to be confirmed by Visa Europe. | Datacell added that the suspension would last for an initial seven days, but this has yet to be confirmed by Visa Europe. |
| The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, was arrested in London on Tuesday, connected to sexual assault allegations in Sweden. | The founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange, was arrested in London on Tuesday, connected to sexual assault allegations in Sweden. |
| He was refused bail, but has vowed to fight extradition. | He was refused bail, but has vowed to fight extradition. |