DISCLAIMER - Not sure what is really going on, just wanted to bring this to everyone's attention so maybe we could get to the bottom of this.
***Other sites which are listed on Shapeshift appear to be working.
Could this be a hack? What in the world is going on here?So I just went to use Shapeshift and got an interesting surprise. And come to find out the list of companies that are effected by this is quite astonishing. See a comprehensive list of companies below that are effected - this includes mostly the use of their websites.
It specifically says NEW YORK, WASHINGTON, NORTH KOREA... like um huh? Yet here I am in Las Vegas and it is blocked for me by a company called -
http://pleaseprotectconsumers.org/Click the below link to see if the group of companies/services have begun denying service in your area.
https://shapeshift.io/Here is a list of companies that have decided to block service to the USA and other areas:
LocalBitcoins
Shapeshift
BitQuick
GoCoin
HolyTransaction
Genesis Mining
Kraken
Poloniex
Vaultoro
BTCguild
Eobot
Paxful
Rebit
Bitmex
__________________________________
Here is some info from their blocked website message:
"CENSORED
This service is censored in your state or territory, due to regulations which mandate the extraction of your personal, private, information. This jeopardizes your safety, so we refuse to do it.
______________________________
Why is this website blocked?
We are committed to consumer protection.
Unfortunately, such protection is outlawed in your state or territory. Your politicians have decided that it is more important to spy on you than protect you.
We believe it is reckless and ethically impermissible to extract personal, private information from our users, if such information is not necessary for the service used. Companies which capture this information expose their customers by needlessly storing sensitive data in a central repository, which inevitably becomes a target for hackers and other malicious actors.
Even multinational companies and trillion-dollar governments have been unable to build a track record of data security.
Consider that in America alone, identity theft resulting from these treasure troves of personal data caused over $24 billion in losses to consumers and businesses in 2012, compared with only $14 billion for all burglary, vehicle, and property theft combined. Source
In other words, identity theft is the biggest and most costly form of theft in our society.
Fortunately, Bitcoin and blockchain technology have enabled a new standard of financial privacy and consumer protection that all good people deserve.
After all, the best way to protect consumers - if that is truly the goal - is not to collect and store their sensitive data in the first place.
Unfortunately, in spite of the technological achievements that now provide unprecedented consumer protection, some jurisdictions have imposed regulation that outlaws that protection. They demand that the spying and data collection continue.
Therefore, as we must comply with law, and as we refuse to endanger or cause harm to our customers, our services are censored from these jurisdictions:
NEW YORK STATE
WASHINGTON STATE
NORTH KOREA
_______________________________
What You Can Do
For jurisdictions which have elected representatives, we've provided contact information below. Please let them know about the importance of the consumer protection afforded by blockchain technology, and the costs and risks forced upon consumers in jurisdictions which continue to censor it.
CONTACT STATE REPRESENTATIVES
Contact info for
all New York State Representatives
Governor of New York State:
Andrew M. Cuomo
1-518-474-8390
Contact info for
all Washington State Representatives
Governor of Washington State:
Jay Inslee
360-902-4111
Media Contact Information
Wall Street Journal
Gerard Baker, Editor in Chief:
[email protected]Op-Ed Submission:
[email protected]New York Times
Margaret Sullivan, Public Editor:
[email protected]Op-Ed Submission:
[email protected]Organizations Can Contact
[email protected]Copyright © PleaseProtectConsumers.org 2015"
SOURCE -
https://shapeshift.io/ 
