PayPal Holdings Inc. said in a Monday statement that it does not plan to levy fines on customers for misinformation.
An update to the company's policy language is said to have threatened fines of $2,500 per violation, according to reports.
As Reuters reported, the company said the policy updates were released in error, and the company said it "never intended" to publish the updated policy language.
The company's alleged error received criticism after it outlined the plan. The company's new policy updates gained attention in recent days when PayPal released language saying it would prohibit users from using PayPal for activities like "the sending, posting, or publication of any messages, content or materials" that promoted misinformation.
The new policy was said to have been planned to begin on Nov. 2, and nearly $3000 in penalties per violation would be issued.
The company later retracted that policy update saying it was never supposed to be released.
After criticisms and controversy began to multiply, the "Delete PayPal" search term began to spike on search sites, Market Watch reported.
Google searches for "how to cancel PayPal" and "cancel PayPal account" also began to spike.
David Marcus, a former executive at PayPal wrote on Twitter, "A private company now gets to decide to take your money if you say something they disagree with. Insanity."
Tesla founder Elon Musk replied to the tweet, writing, "Agreed."
PayPal's stock was down nearly 6% by midday trading on Wall Street Monday after the policy backlash and concerns from investors.
