PayPal advertising Hacker groups Anonymous and Lulz Security called Wednesday for a boycott of PayPal to punish the electronic payments firm for its refusal to accept donations for WikiLeaks. \"PayPal continues to withhold funds from WikiLeaks, a beacon of truth in these dark times,\" the groups said in a statement.
\"We encourage anyone using PayPal to immediately close their accounts and consider an alternative,\" they said.
\"The first step to being truly free is not putting one\'s trust into a company that freezes accounts when it feels like, or when it is pressured by the US government,\" they added.
Anonymous and Lulz Security also denounced the arrests in the United States this month of 14 people suspected of taking part in an online attack on the PayPal website organized by Anonymous.
They said they were \"outraged\" at the FBI\'s \"willingness to arrest and threaten those who are involved in ethical, modern cyber operations\" against \"corrupt and greedy organizations, such as PayPal.\"
PayPal, Visa and MasterCard stopped accepting donations for WikiLeaks in December after the website began releasing sensitive State Department cables.
PayPal has said the decision to restrict the WikiLeaks account was not the result of any pressure from the US government.