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Honestly, I wouldn't trust Google (or any other tech giant) to be my bank.

My bank doesn't have a history of locking people's accounts when they post "the wrong" political opinions online.

My bank doesn't have a plan to monetize access to my account, or to limit use of the account to only those activities of which the bank's army of woke employees approve.

I think I'll stick with a real bank, thanks.



Oh, so not true. Banks often close accounts of types of people or businesses they don’t like at the moment. Just ask a PE/VC with a BofA account!


That, though, is mostly about risk management -- and even if they close your account, you get the money back.

(I also would never do business with Bank of America, because they're awful and they hate their customers even more than Wells does)

But even BofA doesn't do things like read your Twitter posts and YouTube comments so they can blackhole your account if you have have the wrong politics.

The tech giants, on the other hand, will seize your stuff in a heartbeat if you step out of Silicon Valley's definition of acceptable beliefs and opinions.

My credit card works at any merchant -- and the fees are the same. I don't get hit with a temporary ban if I buy a Chick-fil-A sandwich, for example.


> But even BofA doesn't do things like read your Twitter posts and YouTube comments so they can blackhole your account if you have have the wrong politics.

Yet.


I think people willfully conflate accounts being closed with your money actually disappearing.



^this is a real problem


Banks have a habit of closing accounts of people involved in the sex industry and recreational drugs (even in places theses are legal)


Marijuana, one of these recreational drugs, is not legal in the United States.. and banks are beholden to federal regulators. The “legality” of marijuana is in dispute because it’s still a federal crime. The Supremacy Clause overrides thèse state “legalizations.”

I am vastly in favor of states rights and the 10th Amendment, however states seem to only care about those things when it supports what they want to do.


Gun shops as well, and they have an even stronger legal standing under federal law.


While I agree with your caution regarding Google, banks do indeed lock or close accounts for entirely opaque reasons, too, with little to no recourse!


Patreon kicked off some political content because mastercard wouldn't continue to work with Patreon after a certain point.


Google "reputational risk"




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