Joan Donovan of Harvard University's Technology and Social Change Research Project said the Proud Boys don't want to be called a hate group because then they cannot use Paypal, Chase or most other programs to sell things or collect donated money through the Internet. Most online payment collection services, for example PayPal, say in their terms of service that they will not work with hate groups. In 2019, McInnes sued the SPLC for calling the Proud Boys a hate group.