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Game Maker's Toolkit
@gamemakerstoolkit.com

It's absurd and dystopian that payment processors get to decide what we can and can't see on the internet. That companies like Visa and Mastercard can use their enormous size to bully companies into taking stuff offline - based on the reactionary politics of a small group.

Game Maker's Toolkit
@gamemakerstoolkit.com

That's lead to Steam and Itch removing or de-indexing hundreds of games with adult themes, through fear that payment processors will block sales across the entire storefront. Detailed reporting here, via Wired: www.wired.com/story/steam-...

wired.comSteam and Itch.io Are Pulling ‘Porn’ Games. Critics Say It’s a Slippery Slope to More CensorshipA conservative group is targeting payment processors as “a weapon” to get adult games deindexed in storefronts. Even games that have nothing to do with sex or abuse have been caught in the dragnet.
Game Maker's Toolkit
@gamemakerstoolkit.com

Now, understandably, some games should not be made available for sale if they are promoting particularly dangerous or hateful actions. Ban that garbage. But that definition must be up to the store, and then the law to decide, right? Not the arbitrary whims of Visa, Mastercard, or PayPal.

Game Maker's Toolkit
@gamemakerstoolkit.com

I appreciate that some are disappointed in how Valve and - more pointedly - Itch dealt with this situation. But Itch is a gnat compared to the payment companies. And they're threatening the site with total annihilation if they don't capitulate fast. The site simply cannot fight or protest it.

5 reposts147 likes

Game Maker's Toolkit
@gamemakerstoolkit.com

So in my opinion, Itch is not the target. The payment companies are. If you feel strongly, you can sign this petition with ACLU - action.aclu.org/petition/mas... Or see contact info for the relevant parties here - yellat.money

action.aclu.orgMastercard: Sex Work is Work. End Your Unjust Policy.Mastercard's new policy unfairly targets the adult content industry, making sex workers more vulnerable, especially Black trans women. It must be stopped.
Luddite Spyrius Robot
@vexorian.dev

Unfortunately, there used to be a functional FTC head a year ago. But now trump replaced it and the FTC's main goal seems to be to force arm companies into removing DEI policies. I don't think it's a coincidence that Payment Processors chose this year to do this.