A new petition is going around calling for accountability and transparency from payment processors over the chilling effect they are having on freedom of expression.
For those who don’t know, over the past few years, payment processors such as Visa and Mastercard have allegedly been behind multiple efforts to censor certain artwork by demonetizing creators. Most recently, Steam changed their rules by adding an amendment which states developers may not publish:
Content that may violate the rules and standards set forth by Steam’s payment processors and related card networks and banks, or internet network providers. In particular, certain kinds of adult only content.
Earlier this year, payment processors reportedly attempted to withhold money from Japanese game developers. Payment processors have also led to rules changes on sites such as Fansly, Patreon, and more. Japanese platforms such as Pixiv and DLSite have also been targeted by payment processors and have been forced to adapt.
Shortly after Steam changed its rules, fans appear to have tracked down one of the driving forces behind the censorship push. Collective Shout is a radical feminist organization who has attracted critics from both ends of the political spectrum for their authoritarian pro-censorship and anti-LGBT stances.
The petition, which is titled “Tell MasterCard, Visa & Activist Groups: Stop Controlling What We Can Watch, Read, or Play” can be found on Change.org and names Collective Shout as one of the larger influences in the ongoing censorship battle. Fans hope to rally the kind of support the Stop Killing Games movement has in order to protect freedom of expression and the expectation that individuals can spend their money how they choose.
The petition lists its goals as:
We demand that MasterCard, Visa, and their pressure partners:
- Stop censoring legal fictional content that complies with the law and platform standards.
- Reject influence from activist groups that promote moral panic or misrepresent fiction as harm.
- Be fully transparent about content restrictions and the rationale behind them.
- Protect creators’ rights to make legal adult content and ensure a fair appeals process for any penalized media.
While Change.org doesn’t compel any action on the part of government authorities, it puts the word out to the broader gaming community and even outside of the gaming community.
