What the PayPal saga tells us about free speech

The veteran comedian Jack Dee has been applauded and condemned for announcing that he is cancelling his PayPal account. As he tweeted yesterday: ‘Big Tech companies that feel they can bully people for questioning mainstream groupthink don’t deserve anyone’s business.’

PayPal has been in the news for cancelling the account of the Free Speech Union, who it says violated its ‘Acceptable Use Policy’, although it has not explained on what exact charge. The Free Speech Union has in recent years defended those who have been censured, or lost their job, for expressing unfashionable opinions, whether they be on lockdown or the trans issue, so it could be on many contentious topic.

The union’s founder, Toby Young, has been politely bemused. Many members of the public have been less restrained, also vowing to close their PayPal account. But Jack Dee’s intervention has been the first of its kind by a celebrity.

Predictably, Twitter went beserk, with many up in arms, accusing Dee – without a hint of irony – of being a fascist in siding with the Free Speech Union.