AUSTIN –Attorney General Ken Paxton joined twenty-seven other attorneys general in a letter to GoFundMe expressing concern over the ambiguity and adequacy of GoFundMe’s terms of service.
According to a press release, GoFundMe has claimed the ability to redirect donations made by users for activities or causes with which the company does not agree, but its terms of service are vague with respect to when it may stop, redirect, or reimburse a users’ donations without their express authorization.
Before an online platform like GoFundMe can redirect funds or decide which fundraisers to block or take down based on partisanship or its own political preferences, it must clearly and directly disclose to consumers that it will do so, the press release states.
"The GoFundMe platform serves an important purpose by facilitating charitable giving," the letter states. "However, the parameters under which a user’s donation may be blocked, frozen, re-directed to another fundraiser, or refunded without the user’s consent are unclear.
"While platforms like GoFundMe can and should act as conduits connecting donors and fundraisers, platforms like GoFundMe are not and should not be empowered to unilaterally make decisions regarding where donated funds will go or why."
Paxton previously issued Civil Investigative Demands to GoFundMe in February of this year, as part of an investigation into the company’s potential violations of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act in its treatment of consumers’ charitable contributions made through the site.