TWO major global payment technology companies are being sued in the United States by the hosting service provider used by WikiLeaks for blocking payments to the website.
American lawyers representing DataCell ehf, the Icelandic company that processed payments for WikiLeaks, brought legal charges against MasterCard and Visa on Monday, Dec. 15 seeking in excess of $5 million. As of Monday, the companies had 21 days to respond to the complaint.
“The defendants did not have a legitimate economic reason to prevent credit card payments to DataCell,” attorneys representing the company allege.
Payment problems for WikiLeaks emerged after October 2010, after a contract was established between DataCell and Sunshine Press – the non-profit behind the website – to allow the Icelandic company to process donations made online.
The attorneys also said that “the defendants’ blockade of credit card payments to DataCell, because of its association with Sunshine Press, injured the media market by suppressing the market place of ideas.”
Under the contract, DataCell was to collect 5 percent of the donations. The suit states both entities allegedly lost much money as a result of the blockade.
=DataCell’s lawyers also say that Rep. Peter King (R-New York and Joseph Lieberman, who was previously an independent US Senator until 2013 and former chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, contacted the credit card companies to ensure a blockade, according to RT.
“To punish Sunshine Press and try to put it out of business as retribution for disclosure of the State Department cables, Lieberman and King instructed their respective staffs to contact defendant VISA and defendant MasterCard and demand that they block individuals from donating money to Sunshine Press,” said DataCell’s lawyers.
MasterCard confirmed to the European Commission in 2011 that it had been contacted by King and Lieberman.
DataCell won a case that went to the Iceland Supreme Court last year when Valitor, an online e-commerce payment solutions company, also stopped donations from reaching WikiLeaks.
“This is a victory against the rise of economic censorship to crack down against journalists and publishers,” said Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in a statement at the time. “We thank the Icelandic people for showing that they will not be bullied by powerful Washington-backed financial services companies like Visa. And we send out a warning to the other companies involved in this blockade: You’re next.”
(With reports from RT)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek December 17-19, 2014 Sec. B pg.1)
