Attorney General Rutledge Asks Gofundme for Clarity, Disclosure
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LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general urging Gofundme to better disclose policies and to provide greater clarity in terms of service for consumers who use its platform. Gofundme is a popular crowdfunding platform. According to its website, Gofundme has served over 50 million donors and has helped organizers raise more than $5 billion since its launch in 2010. Individuals, businesses, and charities pay a fee of 2.2 to 2.9%, plus $0.3 per transaction. But information on the terms of service and policies, particularly related to blocking, freezing, refunding, and re-directing donations, is hard to find and unclear.
“Arkansans are the most giving people and will always help another person in need,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “Gofundme must make its policies clear so Arkansans and Americans know who and what their money is going to when they are donating to a Gofundme campaign.”
In their letter to GofundMe, the attorneys general state, “[P]latforms like GoFundme are not and should not be empowered to unilaterally make decisions regarding where donated funds will go or why. If GofundMe is making opaque and unilateral decisions about which fundraisers are legitimate and which fundraisers to re-route donations to irrespective of initial donor choice, Gofundme has likely crossed the line from fundraising platform to fundraiser itself. Such a role implicates significantly different regulatory schemes directed at ensuring transparency in charitable giving.”
Attorney General Rutledge asks Gofundme to take the following steps and provide information in response to the letter:
Explain in detail how Gofundme investigates or analyzes fundraisers on its platform, and what criteria Gofundme uses to determine whether those fundraisers are fundraising for acceptable purposes;
Explain in detail how GoFundme determines whether to block, freeze, re-direct, or refund donations, and what criteria Gofundme uses to decide which avenue to take;
Explain in detail how GoFundme handles donations when Gofundme decides to (i) block donations, (ii) freeze donations, (iii) re-direct donations, and/or (iv) re-direct donations;
Review policies and Terms of Service to ensure that donors are adequately and conspicuously informed at the time of their donation of the circumstances under which their donation may be blocked, frozen, re-directed or refunded without their authorization by conspicuously disclosing those circumstances through the user interface on the platform;
Explain in detail the meaning of the term “unacceptable” in the context of Terms of Service and describe whether there are additional internal policies defining it; and
Articulate any steps being taken to address these issues in the form of a responsive letter or a meeting with the undersigned attorneys general.
Along with Attorney General Rutledge, the letter was signed by the attorneys general of Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia.
About Attorney General Leslie Rutledge
Leslie Carol Rutledge is the 56th Attorney General of Arkansas. Elected on November 4, 2014, and sworn in on January 13, 2015, she is the first woman and first Republican in Arkansas history to be elected as Attorney General. She was resoundingly re-elected on November 6, 2018. Since taking office, she has significantly increased the number of arrests and convictions against online predators who exploit children and con artists who steal taxpayer money through Social Security Disability and Medicaid fraud. Further, she has held Rutledge Roundtable meetings and Mobile Office hours in every county of the State each year, and launched a Military and Veterans Initiative. She has led efforts to roll back government regulations that hurt job creators, fight the opioid epidemic, teach internet safety, combat domestic violence and make the office the top law firm for Arkansans. Rutledge serves on committees for Consumer Protection, Criminal Law and Veterans Affairs for the National Association of Attorneys General. She also served as the former Chairwoman of the Republican Attorneys General Association.
A native of Batesville, she is a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. Rutledge clerked for the Arkansas Court of Appeals, was Deputy Counsel for former Governor Mike Huckabee, served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Lonoke County and was an Attorney at the Department of Human Services before serving as Counsel at the Republican National Committee. Rutledge and her husband, Boyce, have one daughter. The family has a home in Pulaski County and a farm in Crittenden County.