PayPal Rewords User Agreement After Robocall Criticism

Paypal has announced that it is clearing up the wording in user agreement after being called out the FCC for illegal practices violating consumers privacy with the potential for invasive robocalls. Users worried that the because the text in the user agreement indicated they would be subjected to robocalls, that PayPal could be selling the personal data to external call lists. The previous language made it seem as though PayPal was violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

The FCC sent a stern warning to PayPal on June 11th, detailing how PayPal could be violating the law. The FCC drove the point home by reminding PayPal that it along with any service providers or affiliates could be fined up to $16,000 per text message or call.

A contentious point of the earlier version of the user agreement was theat there was no way for users to opt out of receiving auto-dialed calls. The agreement was worded as though if users failed to give permission to receive robocalls and autotexts, they would forfeit their right to use PayPal entirely.

PayPal uses its updated language to clarify three main points about the potential robocalls. According to section (1.10) of the user agreement, PayPal primarily uses auto-dialing and auto-texts to:

Help detect, investigate and protect our customers from fraud

Provide notices to our customers regarding their accounts or account activity

Collect a debt owed to us

This isn't the first time PayPal has landed in hot water over its shady practices. PayPal Credit's deceptive bill collecting practices let to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) forcing PayPal to pay $25 million in fines and consumer refunds.

PayPal will be sending customers an email notifying them of the new user agreement. Users should also be able to opt out of the calls. As the new agreement was crafted hand in hand with the FCC, PayPal should be in the clear, going forward.

Source: TechCrunch