*European Parliament - on Card, Internet and mobile
payments*
Towards an integrated European market for card, internet and mobile payments - 20 November 2012
The European Parliament voted that the Commission introduce legislation to determine when credit card companies can deny payments:
"32. Considers it likely that there will be a growing number of European companies whose activities are effectively dependent on being able to accept payments by card; considers it to be in the public interest to define objective rules describing the circumstances and procedures under which card payment schemes may unilaterally refuse acceptance;"
In his intervention, Swedish MEP Christian Engstrom
explained:
"Another example is when Visa, Mastercard and Paypal blocked payments to WikiLeaks. There was no legal basis and [it] should be seen as the three companies helped the US government to silence an inconvenient voice. It is not acceptable that private corporations have the power of [controlling] free speech."
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