Talk Liberation and WikiLeaks Lawyers To Challenge Icelandic De-banking
Landmark June 19 Icelandic District Court hearing to establish a precedent in a David vs Goliath struggle for justice against a powerful banking institution. Plus: the new TalkLiberation.com revealed
No institution is too big to be held accountable before the law - this is the message independent software development house Talk Liberation, who are being represented by WikiLeaks' Icelandic lawyers, is taking to an Icelandic court this Thursday June 19.
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Talk Liberation, the creators behind the Panquake social media project, are once again on the ground in Reykjavik, Iceland, suing the major Icelandic bank Islandsbanki for its 2022 de-banking of the tech startup, an action which Talk Liberation contends was baseless and procedurally flawed.
Sveinn Andri Sveinsson, the Icelandic Supreme Court lawyer representing Talk Liberation ehf., said he was relatively optimistic about the results of the case against Islandsbanki. "The fact is that the bank terminated the banking service without any reason. The reasons the bank have provided the court with for the termination are not only minor and lame, but fake." Sveinn said he hoped justice would be served in the court. "The truth must prevail."
In a crippling and unjustified move in 2022, Islandsbanki froze USD$1 million dollars of Talk Liberation's seed funding without notice and then terminated their banking services. The bank invoked money laundering and anti-terrorism financing laws to do so, before making a stunning reversal on their position, unfreezing and returning the funds - but taking nine months to do so.
By their actions, Islandsbanki effectively conceded that Talk Liberation did nothing wrong however offered no explanation, apology or compensation for the costs and damages inflicted upon Talk Liberation by Islandsbanki. Talk Liberation was forced to pivot operations to bring alternative solutions to market while awaiting resolution on these matters and in March 2023, instructed lawyers to prepare suit to hold Islandsbanki to account.
In what may prove to be a seminal case of ‘the little people’ taking on a major financial institution - Talk Liberation is looking to set a precedent that banks do not have carte blanche to act with impunity against legitimate commercial operations engaged in lawful business activity.
"The fact is that the bank terminated the banking service without any reason. The reasons the bank have provided the court with for the termination are not only minor and lame, but fake. The truth must prevail." - Sveinn Andri Sveinsson, Icelandic Supreme Court Attorney
Talk Liberation founder Suzie Dawson said "There has been a worldwide trend of banks making decisions with disregard for proportionality and economic freedoms and exhibiting a lack of proper consideration of the potential negative economic impacts of their actions. That tide is starting to turn - legislatures are reassessing the propriety of de-banking as a practice and are acting to curb it. Economic freedom is a core principle underpinning democracy and our hope is that Iceland will embrace this opportunity to lead on the issue of consumer rights, rather than to lag behind other developed nations who are rightly assessing de-banking to be an unfair and disproportionate practice and updating their regulations accordingly."
Talk Liberation Brand Ambassador, New York Times best-selling author John Kiriakou and Panquake’s Media Director Fiorella Isabel will be reporting live from Reykjavik on Thursday 19 June, the day of the District Court hearing. Since April, the hearing has been deferred twice by the Icelandic legal system but Talk Liberation remains determined to see our day in court.
In March 2025, Talk Liberation launched the #BadBanki online campaign to amplify this battle for justice and give others in the same predicament a voice. Research published at the BadBanki.com campaign website demonstrates unequivocally that ‘de-banking’ is being utilised internationally as a tool of political persecution and we continue to highlight examples of this global trend.
Talk Liberation remains committed to driving positive change in the current paradigm of social media platforms and technology, protecting users and their data from exploitation and abuse.
“There has been a worldwide trend of banks making decisions with disregard for proportionality and economic freedoms and exhibiting a lack of proper consideration of the potential negative economic impacts of their actions. That tide is starting to turn - legislatures are reassessing the propriety of de-banking as a practice and are acting to curb it. Economic freedom is a core principle underpinning democracy and our hope is that Iceland will embrace this opportunity to lead on the issue of consumer rights, rather than to lag behind other developed nations who are rightly assessing de-banking to be an unfair and disproportionate practice and updating their regulations accordingly.” - Suzie Dawson, Talk Liberation Founder
Post-Script - an Interesting Coincidence?
Recently, without explanation, Talk Liberation founder Suzie Dawson was also de-banked from her New Zealand (NZ) state bank, KiwiBank, after banking with them for nearly 25 years. The Talk Liberation founder lodged a complaint with the New Zealand Banking Ombudsman's Office who have formally accepted to investigate the case and assisted in unearthing hundreds of internal Kiwibank records and documents relating to the case.
The documents contain myriad discrepancies as yet unexplained, which point to manipulation of account registration records as well as customer complaints procedure records by Kiwibank, which calls into question the integrity of Kiwibank's internal resolution and reporting mechanisms at scale.
The investigation continues and further legal action is anticipated.
The outcome of Thursday’s court hearing will be announced on all Talk Liberation channels and platforms, including this blog.
How Can People Help in This Fight Against Unfair Banking Practices?
Follow this ongoing David vs Goliath struggle for justice against a powerful banking institution at BadBanki.com.
Write to us or reach out on social media
Contact our Media Director for interviews and commentary
Announcement: the NEW official Talk Liberation website
“This is about people not machines.” So begins the About Page description of the brand spanking new official Talk Liberation website.
“You should never have to surrender your human rights to gain access to commercial technology.”
It’s obvious out of the gate, how different Talk Liberation is. Unafraid to take a different line than the status quo, placing users first and walking that talk.
Talk Liberation’s products are similarly unique and principled. The company’s ethics are reinforced in every architectural design decision.
So who is Talk Liberation?
Talk Liberation is a next generation software development house driven by the ethos that we all have a right to retain our privacy and control over our own data while participating in online communities, and that as individuals, our personal details are not for sale or to be extorted in return for the ‘privilege’ of using software platforms.
Talk Liberation now has scores of talented team members working in more than a dozen countries, but just a few short years ago we started out as a group of volunteers and IT nerds frustrated at how Big Tech was abusing our data and using social media to turn us from customers into commodities.
With thirst for products like those in Talk Liberation’s stable at an all-time high, the team is consistently growing. Those who share the values of Talk Liberation and have technical skills to offer can apply to become part of the Talk Liberation team at the Jobs page of the new website.
There is a comprehensive Press Centre for media, a public Contacts page and an excellent Brand page, showcasing the sophisticated and professional design chops of the Talk Liberation team.
BACKGROUND:
In 2021, social media project Panquake was born out of the vision to rebalance the distribution of power between social media users and platforms, to create a space where users could communicate without being profiled and exploited by AI, advertisers and Big Data.
Since parent company Talk Liberation's inception, it has grown into a multi-national organisation with nearly 50 staff spanning more than a dozen countries. Talk Liberation remains committed to fostering a safer internet environment that is free from censorship, mass surveillance and advertising, while empowering users globally.
As well as developing Panquake, Talk Liberation is the team behind WLDragnet.com, FREE link shortening and archiving service pnqk.me and upcoming digital marketing dashboard Lnqk Me.
Relevance of Iceland:
There is a long and storied history of banking abuses and protests in Iceland.
A few resources:
Read about the Icelandic financial crisis here
Wikipedia article on the massive Icelandic protests against the banks
Iceland jailed bankers
98% of Icelanders voted against bailing out the banks
Use our Panquake Me link shortening service for free at this link!
Businesses can apply to become a Lnqk Me Pilot Customer at this link.
If you haven’t already, you can apply to join the Panquake BETA at this link.
Panquake.com and this Substack page are brought to you by Talk Liberation: Finally! Software You Can Trust
© Talk Liberation Limited. The original content of this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. Please attribute copies of this work to “Talk Liberation” or talkliberation.com. Some of the work(s) incorporated may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact licensing@talkliberation.com
Thank You TL