Friday Jun 12, 2026
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
POWERHOUSE Arena
28 Adams Street (Corner of Adams & Water Street across from the Archway)
Brooklyn , NY
11201
About the Book.
Exposes how companies like Visa, Chase, PayPal, Bank of America, and Mastercard use their power to silence dissenting voices and hurt democracy through the practice of financial censorship
Civil liberties activist Rainey Reitman introduces readers to the concept of “financial censorship”—a form of privatized censorship where banks and payment intermediaries act as censors in ways the government couldn’t do directly without violating the First Amendment. Reitman examines financial companies and the role they have played in policing speech, as well as the laws and corporate policies that have enabled this form of censorship.
Weaving together over a decade of research with interviews and narratives from those personally impacted by financial censorship, Reitman reveals how financial exclusion has become a tool to pressure marginalized voices into silence.
From the executive director of a voting rights nonprofit to a teacher of Iranian poetry, to adult content creators and the cannabis community, Reitman uplifts the voices of those who have been targeted by these powerful institutions. She uses their stories as a launching point to explore larger issues about who should have the power to censor in a democratic society.
Insightful and fresh, Transaction Denied exposes this new and alarming form of censorship and offers a path forward by advocating for communities affected by financial exclusion and calling for more transparency of our financial systems.
About the Author.
Rainey Reitman is a writer and a civil liberties activist working on the frontlines of some of our generation’s most crucial Internet rights battles. She has led viral campaigns; appeared frequently in radio, print, and television; given speeches around the world on civil liberties; and written on the intersection of technology and human rights. Reitman cofounded and currently serves as president of the Board of Directors of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, a nonprofit defending journalism.
About the Moderators.
Trevor Timm is the co-founder and executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, a New York-based non-profit organization that protects and defends press freedom.
Ben Wizner is a Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU and Director of its Center for Democracy, which encompasses the organization’s work on free speech, privacy, immigrants’ rights, voting rights, human rights, and national security.
Chris Finan is a writer and historian. He worked for free expression groups for more than 40 years, retiring as executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship. He is the author of From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America. His new book is Freedom of Speech: A People’s History of Democracy’s Most Essential Right.