Paxton issued a civil investigative demand to GoFundMe on Wednesday, claiming the crowdfunding website broke the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act after removing a fundraising page for the Freedom Convoy that had raised $10 million.
"GoFundMe's response to an anti-mandate, pro-liberty movement should ring alarm bells to anyone using the donation platform and, more broadly, any American wanting to protect their constitutional rights," Attorney General Paxton announced in a press statement. "Many Texans donated to this worthy cause. I am acting to protect Texas consumers so that they know where their hard-earned money is going, rather than allowing GoFundMe to divert money to another cause without the consent of Texas citizens. I will get to the bottom of this deceitful action."
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GoFundMe canceled the fundraiser on Friday, declaring that it would work with organizers to "send all remaining funds to credible and established charities." Donors could submit a request for a refund by filling out a form before February 19. After getting pushback online, GoFundMe reversed its position and announced on Saturday that it would refund all of the funds donated within seven to 10 days.
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"Due to donor feedback, we are simplifying the process. We will automatically refund all contributions directly — donors do not need to submit a request," the fundraising website announced in a statement.
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Christian fundraising alternative GiveSendGo stepped up to provide a platform for the Freedom Convoy after GoFundMe pulled down the page. As of Wednesday, the page has raised $7.5 million in donations.
On Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to probe GoFundMe's actions in Canada, announcing on Twitter, "It is a fraud for [GoFundMe] to commandeer $9M in donations sent to support truckers and give it to causes of their own choosing." The Florida governor pledged to work with Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to investigate GoFundMe's "deceptive practices."
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Truckers surrounded Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada, over the last two weeks, culminating in a rally on Saturday questioning Canada's vaccine mandates. The number of truckers grew large enough to force Ottawa's mayor to announce a state of emergency on Sunday.
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This isn't Paxton's first time targeting tech companies. The Texas attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google in December 2020. Fifteen states have joined Paxton in the lawsuit as of January 2022. Google tried to dismiss the lawsuit in January, claiming that the lawsuit's allegations were not "credible."
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Paxton filed a civil investigative demand against Twitter in January after the social platform banned former President Donald Trump in January 2021. Paxton insisted that it was probing allegations that Twitter had violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Twitter tried to dismiss the suit in federal court, alleging that the case was retaliatory and not legitimate. The judge denied the dismissal.
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