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payment processors are 'just private companies'. from 2011 to 2015, they were pressured by the DoJ (via banks) to deplatform the (legal, if sometimes distasteful) industries listed below. private companies always exist in an inescapable political context.
despite what many are saying, these 'private companies' were not free to do whatever they liked. the government rejected the right of these industries to exist, based solely on moral/political grounds. and the banks & payment processors HAD to submit.
If you want to see how the state actually controls private firms, read the FDIC circular. the strategy: arbitrarily (and extra-judicially) declaring certain industries 'high risk', and threatening enormous compliance costs to banks who support them.
https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/examinations/supervisory/insights/sisum11/si_sum11.pdf
https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/examinations/supervisory/insights/sisum11/si_sum11.pdf
'operation choke point' as it is known "ended" in 2015 when Rep. Luetkemeyer blew the lid off the scandal. but it didn't end. payment processors internalized this guidance and now carry it out informally, in the hopes of not being sanctioned in the future when it returns.
and for those wondering, "just start a new bank to support disfavored industries" doesn't work, because banks are extensions of the state. the state strictly limits the number of banks that can exist through charters and tightly regulates them. it is not a free market.
so to sum up:
- banks: not private companies. controlled by the state and regulated by FDIC
- payment processors: not private companies, beholden to banks (controlled by the state)
- disfavored industries: private, but their right to exist was withdrawn by the state
- banks: not private companies. controlled by the state and regulated by FDIC
- payment processors: not private companies, beholden to banks (controlled by the state)
- disfavored industries: private, but their right to exist was withdrawn by the state
so don't come at me with that 'private company' nonsense unless you're willing to engage with the reality of how the banking sector is weaponized to control firms that depend on banks & payment processing (which is all of them)
and yes, Bitcoin fixes this. (but we still have a lot of work to do).
industry list in the first tweet taken from this publication from CEI https://cei.org/issue_analysis/operation-choke-point/
on the brink podcast with the author of this text coming out monday the 18th. follow @OnTheBrinkCIV to be notified when it comes out
if you want more confirmation for what i'm talking about, this is a letter from a sitting representative going into more detail on OCP
> it's real
https://luetkemeyer.house.gov/uploadedfiles/letter_luetkemeyer_to_regulators_on_operation_choke_point_10.25.2018.pdf
> it's real
https://luetkemeyer.house.gov/uploadedfiles/letter_luetkemeyer_to_regulators_on_operation_choke_point_10.25.2018.pdf
