I just received this link from a usually reliable source. Can anyone here speak to the issue?
http://fernwoodpublishing.ca/blog/2013/07/paypal-transactions-regulated-by-the-u-s-government-raising-the-issue/Key fragment:
"So, why are we (a Canadian publishing company) frustrated about what Paypal is doing in this regard? Because we feel it is an unnecessary infringement on people’s privacy, especially considering the customers are not living in the U.S., the book was not being shipped to a U.S. address and they were ordering a book from a Canadian company. So Cuba-U.S. relations are a part of your Paypal transaction. And U.S. law governs Paypal transactions. Who knew?"
Edit: added the word "Canadian" to the headline to make the theme more evident.
For American readers who may wonder what the fuss is about - imagine if, every time you filled your gas tank at a Shell station somewhere in the U.S., the details of the transaction were forwarded to the Dutch government for approval. Alternatively, imagine if, every time you filled your gas tank at a Citgo station somewhere in the U.S., the details of the transaction were forwarded to the Venezuelan government for approval.
This story is about Canadian residents using paypal.ca to buy books from a Canadian bookstore for shipment to Canadian addresses - yet the bookstore has been told that the transactions must be approved by the American government. Wowsers!