In the latest example of a troubling trend in which companies play the role of law enforcement and moral police, Chase Bank has shut down the personal bank accounts of hundreds of adult entertainers.
We’ve written before
about the dire consequences to online speech when service providers
start acting like content police. These same consequences are applicable
when financial services make decisions about to whom they provide
services.
Just as ISPs and search engines can become weak links
for digital speech, too often financial service providers are pressured
by the government to shut down speech or punish speakers who would
otherwise be protected by the First Amendment. It’s unclear whether this
is an example of government pressure, an internal corporate decision,
or some combination.
Chase has yet to give an official statement on why the
accounts are being closed. At least one of the customers affected by
Chase’s decision to shut down adult entertainers’ accounts, Teagan
Presley, was told by Chase that her account was being shut down "because she’s considered 'high risk.'" According to NY Daily News,
her husband Joshua Lehman (whose account is also being closed) reports
receiving conflicting information from Chase about why the accounts were
being shut down:
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