The major processors of credit cards such as American Express, Visa, and MasterCard announced that they will stop processing all of the payments that are made via mug shot sites. People are now currently being charged a fee in order to remove photos from the Internet. Many critics of the strategy pinpoint that the model is considered a form of extortion. Many credit card companies are being asked to regulate commerce. A political scientist pinpoints that credit card companies are being asked to alter brand management. The card Companies sometimes build up partnerships with a variety of hate groups. Various high-risk merchant accounts can also be negatively affected due to the partnership of the credit card Companies with the hate groups.
A contradiction also occurs as the Credit Card Companies promote diversity but have to impose restrictions. MasterCard was originally tied to 8 Holocaust denial organizations and has decided to drop the support. Many of the groups cannot conduct business online because of the recent ban. Political Scientist Jamie Chandler conducted research and was able to pinpoint approximately 40 groups that should be banned from associating themselves with Credit Card Companies. One of the main groups that Chandler is not fond of is the “Family Research Council” because they do not support gay rights. Many efforts are arising worldwide in an attempt to prevent Credit Card Companies from building alliances with hate groups. A Director for an activist team pinpoints that the WikiLeak incident was a prime example of financial censorship. Rainey Reitman states that there is a trend toward taking away free speech which is resulting in suspending controversial sites. MasterCard and VISA also have policies that are vague and ultimately problematic. Many sites are not even violating Amendments and they are still getting shut down.