PayPal · PayPal User Agreement

Acceptable Use Policy Incorporation by Reference

Medium severity
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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

Incorporation by reference of external policies means your obligations extend well beyond the User Agreement itself, and violations of those external policies (such as the Acceptable Use Policy) can result in account suspension or fund seizure without your having consciously reviewed those terms.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

PayPal's User Agreement significantly affects consumers by requiring mandatory individual arbitration and waiving the right to participate in class action lawsuits, limiting legal recourse for disputes over fees, account freezes, or unauthorized transactions. PayPal also reserves broad rights to hold or freeze funds in accounts suspected of policy violations, dispute activity, or elevated risk — potentially leaving users unable to access their money for extended periods. You can opt out of the arbitration clause by mailing a written opt-out notice to PayPal's designated address within 30 days of first accepting the agreement.

How other platforms handle this

Netflix Medium

Unless otherwise explicitly authorized, you agree not to: ...(ix) engage in any of the foregoing in connection with the use, creation, development, modification, prompting, fine-tuning, training, testing, benchmarking or validation of any machine learning tool, model, system, algorithm, product or o...

Anthropic Medium

Do Not Create Psychologically or Emotionally Harmful Content

Snapchat Medium

If you believe that your copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement and is accessible via the Services, please notify Snap's copyright agent as set forth in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA). For your complaint to be valid under the DMCA, you ...

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View original clause language
By opening and using a PayPal account, you agree to comply with all of the terms and conditions of this user agreement, including the Fee pages, and any upcoming changes described on the Policy Updates page at the time you accept this user agreement (which changes will apply to you on the indicated effective dates). These terms include an agreement to resolve disputes by arbitration on an individual basis. You also agree to comply with each of the other terms or agreements on the Legal Agreements page that apply to you and the following additional policies: Acceptable Use Policy, Electronic Communications Delivery Policy (E-Sign Disclosure and Consent).

Applicable regulations

CFAA
United States Federal
DMCA
United States Federal
DSA
European Union

Provision details

Document information
Document
PayPal User Agreement
Entity
PayPal
Document last updated
April 29, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
April 18, 2026
Last verified
April 27, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-002259
Document ID
CA-D-00044
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
SHA-256
272be32ad840cc4b421beb9c5dd9d378a2fd1f23c24ebe4d0ca1310215ea5b10
Verified
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Change verified
How to Cite
ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: PayPal | Document: PayPal User Agreement | Record: CA-P-002259
Captured: 2026-04-18 08:41:49 UTC | SHA-256: 272be32ad840cc4b…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/paypal/paypal-user-agreement/acceptable-use-policy-incorporation-by-reference/
Accessed: May 4, 2026
Classification
Severity
Medium
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does PayPal's Acceptable Use Policy Incorporation by Reference clause do?

Incorporation by reference of external policies means your obligations extend well beyond the User Agreement itself, and violations of those external policies (such as the Acceptable Use Policy) can result in account suspension or fund seizure without your having consciously reviewed those terms.

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 1 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with PayPal?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by PayPal.