Rakuten Advertising has removed PayPal’s Honey browser extension from its network, according to an email shared with partners.
The email states, “We are writing to let you know that Publisher, Honey has been terminated from the Rakuten Advertising network, therefore this publisher has been removed from your affiliate program, effective immediately.”
One source received the email this morning at 01:47 AM GMT.
Initially shocked, they checked with other merchants on the network, who confirmed they had also received it.
Scrutiny around Honey has risen again, after YouTuber MegaLag shared two new parts of his investigation into the affiliate’s alleged malpractice.
The videos argue that Honey has deliberately disobeyed stand down compliance, intentionally monitoring users’ cookies to determine whether to stand down or not. MegaLag also claims that Honey was using leaked codes, despite advertisers requesting that they stop.
Following these two videos, on January 5th, an amended lawsuit was filed by influencers against Honey, which accuses the publisher of cookie stuffing.
Rakuten Advertising is mentioned in the lawsuit, although it is not a named party in this case.
According to ¶ 253 of the complaint: “Internal emails between Rakuten and PayPal show that Honey has repeatedly violated Rakuten's stand down policies…”
Pages of redacted text then follow, which we can speculate display information from the alleged emails.
You can view the full lawsuit here.
Reactions are mixed. Some commentators have applauded the move, while others have described it as severe.
A source told Hello Partner, “I think the better way to solve the extension issue is to add some new rules to regulate those extension publishers. Customers accept that promotional method. They use it. That means this method creates value, even though it is low. It's better to optimise it, not terminate it."
Another source described the move as “harsh, but fair.”
They continued, “If PayPal and Honey now commit to full transparency, stop hiding from compliance tools, and provide full access to networks and compliance partners, then that should be enough for Rakuten to consider reinstating them.”
As the Honey saga continues, one line has been drawn clearly in the sand. We can only wait to see how other networks react, and how PayPal will respond to both the accusations and this action.
Rakuten Advertising has declined to comment. We have contacted PayPal for comment.
