Worse still, this is simply a devious way to implement censorship because there's a big difference between images that are deemed unacceptable by some person or organization and images that are, in fact, illegal.

So, by saying that PayPal refuses to deal with products that aren't illegal, the company was, in effect, trying to act as a censor and thus gave e-book retailers a tough choice: Do as we say or let your business take a financial hit while you look for another payment processor.

Of course, Nayar's post framed its position with the usual corporate weasel words:

"We have not shut down the e-book publishers and are working with the small number of affected merchants to come to a mutually agreeable solution that allows maximum freedom of expression, while protecting PayPal from the brand, regulatory and compliance risk associated with this type of content. / We hope that our customers enjoy the services and features that we work so hard to get right and understand that our policies are simply a way to conduct business in a fast-paced world."

That last sentence is the worst kind of corporate bunk ... as if a whine of "we're just trying our best" really cuts it as an explanation.