Searches for ‘delete PayPal’ have exploded by 1,392%, following the announcement of its $2,500 fine for spreading misinformation.
The study, which was conducted by Financial World, also found that searches for ‘cancel PayPal’ also spiked.
This rise in searches comes after PayPal made a policy update that claimed customers could face fines of $2,500 for sending, posting or publishing content that promoted misinformation, it said.
However, PayPal told Reuters it will not fine users for misinformation and the policy update was sent in error.
A spokesperson for Financial World said, “PayPal has received backlash from their announcement, which was quickly retracted. The backlash can be clearly seen on social media but also in these huge search spikes for people wanting to remove themselves from the platform altogether.
“Many posts can be seen highlighting the issue that PayPal announced they could deduct $2,500 straight from your account for misinformation, with hundreds of people suggesting closing their accounts to avoid this penalty. Famous faces, including Elon Musk, have been in agreement that the new policy is misguided.”
On the back of the update, PayPal’s shares were down nearly 6%, Reuters said.
In other PayPal news. The company recently hired John Kim as executive vice president, chief product officer. In his new role, Kim will lead the consumer and merchant product and engineering teams.
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