itch.io ban of NSFW works

[boreal_cryptid]

without any proper notice, itch.io banned NSFW after pressure from Mastercard and Visa.
devs' can't cash out money from their work.
players can't access or download games from their library, including ones that they've bought.

and let me tell you: it's never about just porn. it's about censorship, new purity culture and dangers for LGBTI+ people.

because guess what?
it's already happening:

13 of our titles have been shadowbanned despite containing no nsfw content and not being tagged as such.
They ARE tagged LGBT content.
Don't pretend this is only about nsfw works.
Why are you censoring queer works?

so what can we do about this?

• support NSFW creators
• pressure Mastercard and Visa (here)
• don't stay silent (write on social media, write posts, sign petitions)
• call out UK's censorship laws (one of the main reasons why it's happening). US and EU too, of course

i will probably write a blog post about it too or something... i don't really have many people knowing me, but it's just the bare minimum that i can do.

[boreal_cryptid]

upd: devs from the quote got response from itch.io

I got a response from itch.io in reply to all this, and now all 15 of our non-explicit titles are out of shadowban jail.
The three that are nsfw are, unsurprisingly, locked.
Still, I appreciate their quick response. I wish they hadn't crumbled like soggy paper, but.

also, this was probably caused by having "adult" tag on some of them.

[BlazingCobaltX]

What a dystopian situation. Zero heads-up too.

It feels like this new UK law happened overnight and changed everything. Social media like Bluesky and Discord are complying with their new age verification rules. I know many people IRL have discussed age verification on social media as a solution, but now that it's happening I only see how incredibly dangerous it is. A few extra laws and the government can basically follow everything you post online. If this isn't a warning to decentralise our online activity then I don't know what is.

[Blue]

This is just a canary in the mine situation, as this will spread to everything else that in some way, shape or form requires payment via credit card. I've already seen people look for solutions, personal sites being one of them alongside places like booth and DLsite, which are less likely to bend down as they're Japanese and have other ways of using money, but removing ourselves out of the problem is not the solution, as they will find a way to get to there too.

I've seen posts talking about how to fight this, though it is mostly based on the US, Canada, UK and Australia. It is probably worth the shot, considering the people responsible for this is a group of 5 terfs from Australia who called thousands of times. There also seems to be some law regarding stopping this, but I cannot find it now, sadly. US-based again, you'd need to call representatives to get anything to work.

[Furbisms]

I honestly do believe we have the collective power to make good change, we just need to wield it right. In the coming days I think I'm going to have to research and see what I can do.

I agree with not simply moving, that will help in the short term and I reccomend it to anyone who needs an alternative within a short period of time, but it shouldn't be the only solution. I will definitely see where people are going and try to help anyone who needs it get set up elsewhere but I definitely want to put forth effort into actually hopefully changing things for the better and I encourage others to do the same.

I still haven't lost hope. I think we can make positive change. It will just take some elbow grease.

[bodypoetic]

From what I've heard, itch.io were effectively given a 24-hour ultimatum by Mastercard - while it still sucks and you can feel however you want about their handling of it, it sounds like they were put in a really difficult situation.

While it's absolutely correct that this will also end up censoring LGBTQ+ content (and that this is a huge problem), I do want to gently push back against the idea of it "just" affecting porn. Sex workers - who are also a marginalised group - have been systematically driven off basically every major platform over the last decade or so, and that in of itself is worth objecting to. (To be clear I do not remotely think this was an intentional slight, it's just worth saying explicitly!)

I honestly do believe we have the collective power to make good change, we just need to wield it right.

Well said! Hopefully enough people will put pressure on Mastercard and Visa that they reverse it.

[Blue]

From what I've heard, itch.io were effectively given a 24-hour ultimatum by Mastercard - while it still sucks and you can feel however you want about their handling of it, it sounds like they were put in a really difficult situation.

That's true. A similar thing happened to Steam from what I understand, so the situation is dire. I can't really blame them as it would get rid of any possible way for transactions. The only real thing we can do is give pushpack if it's possible. This is hurting the livelihoods of many people (the number of artists and writers who were struck by this is huge), you mentioned it yourself.

[MediocreMetastasis]

It sucks. If it was like a government or a game studio it wouldn't be such a problem for itch.io and steam. But because MasterCard and Visa can just prevent any transactions and own a duopoly on digital payments. Not doing what they ask will lead directly to bankruptcy.

this will also end up censoring LGBTQ+ content

This situation is apparently caused by an Australian activist group (typical as Australia and video game censorship goes like bread and butter) so I don't think any LGBTQ+ or "woke" content will be taken down, however, it is most likely they'll start getting more extreme and start taking down anything that's slightly or inherently looks like it sexualizes women (which could possibly have a overlap with LGBTQ+ games focused on women).

[Blue]

I don't think any LGBTQ+ or "woke" content will be taken down

Itchio has taken down MANY queer works that were SFW already, so it's already happening. It will continue to spread. That same group is right now wanting to ban all NSFW on twitter and wants to ban Detroit Become Human for having depictions of abuse towards women (which mind you, aren't shown in a positive light even). They managed to get people defending David Cage of all people (defend is a loose word here, but I don't have a better one to use).

[arcus]

itch.io have updated their FAQ.

An excerpt:

The following is a non-exhaustive list of prohibited themes present in card processing networks. We are unable to support the sale of any works containing these topics:
Non-consensual content (real or implied)

• Underage or “barely legal” themes
• Incest or pseudo-incest content
• Bestiality or animal-related
• Rape, coercion, or force-related
• Sex trafficking implications
• Revenge porn / voyeur / hidden cam
• Fetish involving bodily waste or extreme harm (e.g., “scat,” “vomit”)

It's not just Collective Shout (the Australian organisation,) they have support from other groups including the National Centre on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and Exodus Cry. These groups are run by conservatives.
 
Ana Valens has written some comprehensive articles on the situation, which ended up getting censored: Her article on Steam and her article on the organisations involved.
 

The best way to help is by signing the ACLU petition, they offer legal support against censorship. Calling and sending emails can also bring attention and put pressure on them:

https://stop-paypros.neocities.org/
https://yellat.money/
ACLU petition (USA)

Do note that these changes are unlikely to be rolled back for awhile, if ever. Various laws surrounding porn, especially obscenity laws in the United States, are big business risks for payment processors.

[ThunderPerfectWitchcraft]

I can't imagine that calling payment processors will have any measurable effect; the leverage that was used to push them was the legislature of the US and the UK, and it is likely that the EU is close to follow. These changes of the law were vastly a result of the rise of right-wing agents within the political hegemony that - after seizing power - now try to increase the power of the state to shape the world according to their ideology. While the freedom of the market is specifically reduced in this case, the same agents liberate the market at the expense of social security in the long run - so expecting resistance of the agents of the free markets (like banks, the industry, and so on) that per definition act without any morale other than their own profit is futile.

Large, centralized and "money generating" platforms can't be a tool of resistance in such a situation; and if, they need to use means that elude governmental control completely - the only way to run such a platform I can imagine is using technologies like TOR/meshnets for hosting and cryptocurrencies for payments - even if we ignore that especially the latter technology has big inherent problems (and we shouldn't) the question remains who would be willing to run and maintain such a place: As it would attract pretty shady people as well, this wouldn't be any fun, and probably very risky.

The only chance I see is to establish a network of self-hosted pages and micro-platforms, where both the required maintenance and the contact surface for attacks are much smaller; these could continue to offer room for subversive art, but no inherent means to generate revenues, and would be dependent of a community that exists between them. "Federated" systems might also be an option, but with these I see the problem that instances might be easily taken down once they become relevant...

Personally, I'll start to offer our games on our page in the next few days (I didn't do this before to save a bit of traffic and space); I'm not sure if I should delete them from Itch, stop to use it for future releases, or just go on to use it parallel to self-hosting...

[Melooon]

"money generating" platforms can't be a tool of resistance in such a situation

I read this article shared by someone on mastodon that I thought was reasonable and made me reassess my own ideas about indie games and spaces like itch: http://harmonyzone.org/blog/posts/thoughts%20on%20itchio/

It seems to me that the whole premise of itch as a money generating space is an inherent flaw. That said; Im disappointed to see that though, I wanted to believe in it as a bastion of indie livelihood and financial opportunity for small games, but I think that phase of the web is fading fast, if it ever really existed

Getting a bit off subject but there seems to be a myth in this decade that economics leads the world; but thats never been true; economics always follows energy; both literally and creatively - I believe that wherever there is true creative energy generating interesting and fun things, economics will include it, whether it likes it or not!

[Yoylecake420]

itch.io have updated their FAQ.

An excerpt:

It's not just Collective Shout (the Australian organisation,) they have support from other groups including the National Centre on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and Exodus Cry. These groups are run by conservatives.
 
Ana Valens has written some comprehensive articles on the situation, which ended up getting censored: Her article on Steam and her article on the organisations involved.
 

The best way to help is by signing the ACLU petition, they offer legal support against censorship. Calling and sending emails can also bring attention and put pressure on them:

https://stop-paypros.neocities.org/
https://yellat.money/
ACLU petition (USA)

Do note that these changes are unlikely to be rolled back for awhile, if ever. Various laws surrounding porn, especially obscenity laws in the United States, are big business risks for payment processors.

Call me crazy, but we really need to expose these kinds of groups and post these links EVERYWHERE.

[arcus]

Plenty of new articles on the situation today.

• The Guardian - Mastercard and Visa face backlash after hundreds of adult games removed from online stores Steam and Itch.io
• GamesMarkt - Ukie: "Payment Providers Should Trust in Age Rating Systems"
• Techdirt - Financial Censorship and the Love Affair Between Payment Processors and Anti-Porn Campaigners
• Games Industry.biz - UKIE responds to adult games being pulled from Steam and itch.io after pressure from payment providers
• PC Gamer - Visa and Mastercard pressuring Itch.io and Valve does 'nothing to protect' women, and shock games will just be 'side-stepping the ban entirely', say affected indie devs
• Polygon - Visa and Mastercard are getting overwhelmed by gamer fury over censorship
• Rascal - Itch.io delists, bans games under pressure from payment processors and an Australian anti-porn group

And some blog posts:

• Mimidoshima - How the Religious Right Censor Morally Objectionable Content to Target Queer and Adult Media
• Dhole Moments - Against the Censorship of Adult Content By Payment Processors

I don't think any LGBTQ+ or "woke" content will be taken down

There's currently book bans in the USA. Cartoons from the USA have only been able to have openly queer characters in the past 10 years. Tumblr's NSFW ban unfairly targeted LGBTQIA+ posts. And that's covering just the USA. Some countries murder over it.

I can't imagine that calling payment processors will have any measurable effect; the leverage that was used to push them was the legislature of the US and the UK, and it is likely that the EU is close to follow.

To elaborate on this for everyone else: It's a mix of business risk over different countries' laws, new harsher laws that claim to protect minors, similar situations happening to other sites, Mastercard specifically being more cautious, and US obscenity laws being vague with a recent case ending in a sentence of 40 years. There are high risk payment processors, but they're not as popular and usually have higher fees.

A similar situation occurred with Onlyfans a few years ago, which ended up being reversed. Regardless if itch.io can reverse this change, it's getting news articles written and bringing attention to the situation. That's important.

I do agree with the rest of your post, however.

I read this article shared by someone on mastodon that I thought was reasonable and made me reassess my own ideas about indie games and spaces like itch: http://harmonyzone.org/blog/posts/thoughts%20on%20itchio/

Nice post, thanks for sharing.

[bodypoetic]

I'm generally very sceptical of the power of petitions, but I felt I might as well share this one here. It only takes a minute to sign and who knows, maybe it'll help add some pressure. I'd like to encourage people to phone Mastercard directly, though (this is partially a reminder to myself to set aside some time to do that).

Also, hey, if you've got some cash to spare, the Queer Games Bundle is live and includes a lot of projects that are otherwise delisted right now. (Disclaimer: I'm biased because I do have a game in there, but I also genuinely believe in the QGB's ethos and would probably shill for it even if I didn't personally benefit.)