PayPal, the American online payments company, intend to investigate the funding of extremist and hate movements in the United States by taking advantage of financial platforms, reports Reuters.
The company is partnering with Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a non-profit organisation, for the initiative.
ADL will provide its Centre on Extremism for the initiative, and it will focus on uncovering and disrupting the flows of funds supporting white supremacist and anti-government organisations. Network spreading and profiting from antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, anti-immigrant, anti-Black, anti-Hispanic, anti-Asian bigotry etc., are also would be looked at in the PayPal-ADL venture.
The duo decided to work with other civil rights organisations, including the League of United Latin American Citizens, as part of the initiative.
PayPal said that the information collected in this venture would be shared with other firms in the financial industry, law enforcement and policymakers.
Aaron Karczmer, PayPal's chief risk officer, said that the company hopes to have a positive social impact by sharing some of its capabilities. The company wish to have an impact on fighting surging hatred and extremism in society. He added that as the son of a Holocaust survivor himself, he knows all too well the real-world impact that comes from hatred and extremist groups.
Jonathan Greenblatt, the ADL CEO, said that they have a unique opportunity to further understand how hate spreads and develop key insights that will inform the efforts of the financial industry, law enforcement and communities in mitigating extremist threats.
Based in San Jose, California, PayPal has developed advanced systems to help prevent illegal activity and flows through its platform over the years. It had teamed up with criminologists and academics in 2020 to research the payment systems used in the trafficking of illegal firearms.
It partners with Polaris, a non-profit group, to work against human trafficking through a joint Financial Intelligence Unit. It also took action against businesses that promote extremism using its platform during the past few years.