February 11, 2023
What does it mean to be "De-banked"
When the state and private companies enter into a close alliance around the governance of a nation, it is called fascism. However, fascism is not a word that in modern times you want to be associated with, and therefore modern companies and public bodies do not use that term. Instead, they call it "Public - private partnership" and this merging of business life and public administration has increased tremendously over the last 50 years, so that today it is almost impossible to distinguish where one ends and the other begins. Today, it is a former prime minister - Helle Thorning Schmidt who is the head of Facebook's department for content moderation in Denmark. Many have experienced how Facebook increasingly quarantines users or completely closes their accounts if these users share content that Facebook for one reason or another believes violates their community rules. It is bad enough to be excluded from a large and for many very important digital community in that way, but imagine if it was your bank that suddenly decided that you should be quarantined from using your account, or if they suddenly decided that they would delete your account because you had said or done something that broke their community rules, or the current government's political direction.
Do you think it can't happen? Well... it just happened. Not in Denmark, but in the "liberal" country of Canada. Political activist Jeremy McKenzy has been shut out of his bank because of the views he espouses. He can just find another bank - you might think. No, unfortunately he can't because all the banks in Canada refuse to accept him as a customer. At the same time, everyone needs a bank. You cannot be paid wages or benefits without having a bank. This means that MacKenzie was effectively deprived of the possibility of having an income and paying bills. Jerry MacKenzie is not the only one who experiences this. We see a growth in that type of "corporate - public management" that can punish undesirable behavior or undesirable attitudes without any kind of judicial decision. We have not yet seen examples of de-banking in Denmark, but there is no reason why it shouldn't happen here as well. In the near future, it is not just Facebook and other social media that will punish you with quarantine and exclusion if your behavior does not meet their wishes. Your bank can do the same and it is in close alliance with other banks and public authorities and politicians.
Link to article about Jeremy-MacKenzie and de-banking
