I guess most posters have already forgotten the previous big case of Visa and Mastercard declining to do processing of a client organization to praise this one

I guess most posters have already forgotten the previous big case of Visa and Mastercard declining to do processing of a client organization to praise this one as if it is a good thing. And, no, they couldn't care less about some article, and they most likely deal with much sleazier companies when it's “a matter of national/international importance”, or sufficiently high-ranking official asks politely for certain exempts. Such corporate reactions are agreed upon in advance. Even counter-terrorism arguments still mean that someone gets the right to define who is called a terrorist today for you. I can't see how this is good news. If you think that this isn't real danger, political activists in Russia have routinely be placed on “extremist” lists, which means all their bank accounts have been frozen. I know, I know, just following the law, someone has to stop the bad guys, etc.