You must agree to a long list of prohibited transaction types — violating the Acceptable Use Policy can result in immediate account termination and you being personally liable to PayPal for damages.
This analysis describes what PayPal's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
The provision establishes operational boundaries for permissible account activity and creates a liability mechanism linking account termination to potential financial claims. This structure allows PayPal to address both service abuse and recover costs associated with prohibited transaction processing.
Using your PayPal account for any of the broad categories of prohibited activities — even unknowingly — can result in immediate account closure and personal financial liability to PayPal for damages, with the full list contained in a separate incorporated document.
How other platforms handle this
You agree not to post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party's patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) violates, or encourages any ...
You agree not to engage in any of the following prohibited activities: (i) copying, distributing, or disclosing any part of the Services in any medium; (ii) using any automated system, including 'robots,' 'spiders,' 'offline readers,' etc., to access the Services; (iii) transmitting spam, chain lett...
Customer agrees to comply with HubSpot's Acceptable Use Policy, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference. HubSpot may update the Acceptable Use Policy from time to time, and any changes will be effective upon posting to HubSpot's website. Customer's continued use of the Services follow...
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"You may not use the PayPal service for activities that: violate any law, statute, ordinance, or regulation; relate to transactions involving (a) narcotics, steroids, certain controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety, (b) drug paraphernalia, (c) cigarettes, (d) items that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity... If you use your PayPal account for these activities, in addition to PayPal immediately terminating your account, you may be liable to PayPal for the amount of PayPal's damages caused by your use of the PayPal service for these activities.— Excerpt from PayPal's PayPal User Agreement
(1) REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: The Acceptable Use Policy's prohibited activities list engages the Bank Secrecy Act (31 U.S.C. § 5311 et seq.) and FinCEN AML/KYC requirements, OFAC sanctions regulations (31 CFR Chapter V), the Wire Act (18 U.S.C. § 1084) for gambling transactions, and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (31 U.S.C. § 5361 et seq.). The FTC Act Section 5 governs whether the incorporation by reference of the AUP adequately discloses liability exposure. (2)
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The provision establishes operational boundaries for permissible account activity and creates a liability mechanism linking account termination to potential financial claims. This structure allows PayPal to address both service abuse and recover costs associated with prohibited transaction processing.
Using your PayPal account for any of the broad categories of prohibited activities — even unknowingly — can result in immediate account closure and personal financial liability to PayPal for damages, with the full list contained in a separate incorporated document.
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