Censorship issues - Introducing uncertainty!

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XerXes 25 Jul @ 10:15pm

As someone who lives "Down Under" in Australia, and who (hopefully) is a part of the SANE majority, I wish to express my undying opposition to third party activists (like radical feminist groups based here) using the banking system to censor games or other artistic content they don't like.

I used to think of Banks and financial Institutions as being like a doctor or priest as far as confidentiality goes. In other words, when it comes to LEGAL entertainment, they should have no business knowing whether a payment using their services is for an educational children's game or a mature game, which is approved for sale by the store - complyng with a particular region's laws.

If the Banks adopt a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy then there would be no embarassing statistics that could be used against them. In isolated cases, something bad might slip through a crack and temporarily be made available for sale, but companies like Steam are better suited to deal with those matters, as games are their 'bread and butter'. Anyway, if such an instance happens, how could an activist group link a purchase of the questionable product to a specific payment-provider without having inside information?

These self-styled 'protectors of humanity', would have us believe that masterpieces of fiction, like "Detroit Become Human" or "Grand Theft Auto V" are corruptive influences!!! If they manage to win against titles like these, how long before they come after other amazing games like "The Witcher" or "Baldur's Gate 3"? What about them denying females the chance to play as as a character of their own sex in violent games, or any game which allows them to show an inch of skin? In fact, I read that one of their targets are anything where a deadly weapon (like a gun) is pointed at another human! This would rule out a lot of strategy or combat titles like "Call of Duty", for instance.

We need to unite against this threat now, before we are driven back to the days where only games like PONG or SPACE-INVADERS were available.

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Showing 1-15 of 26 comments

Chronocide 25 Jul @ 10:22pm

Originally posted by XerXes:
Censorship issues - Introducing uncertainty!

Visa and mastercard and paypal and every other one of these payment processors is super consist about what they allow and what they don't allow. Look it up. They are super consistent about what they allow and what they don't allow.

Steam, somehow, has been skating under the radar. They got worldwide attention recently, so now they can't skate under the radar anymore. That is what changed.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/uk-minister-slams-valve-for-explicit-game-promoting-non-consensual-sexual-contact-and-sexual-violence

And the payment processor's rules on these things can also apply to cardholders. They're taking the high road by only punishing steam here. They could just ban everyone with a visa card that's bought certain games on steam, it's within their rights and terms of use. Like banned from visa. Censoring steam is so kind compared to what they could do, instead.

Last edited by Chronocide; 25 Jul @ 10:25pm

sneezyfido 25 Jul @ 10:27pm

I am not Australian, nor American, and I do not use these payment processors.

The consequence of Valve bowing to this lot is that I will hold off any further purchases on Steam until they tell those payment processors "NO" and revert these illegal* bans.

* based on a.o. EU fair trade regulations

Chronocide 25 Jul @ 10:30pm

Originally posted by sneezyfido:
I am not Australian, nor American, and I do not use these payment processors.

The consequence of Valve bowing to this lot is that I will hold off any further purchases on Steam until they tell those payment processors "NO" and revert these illegal* bans.

* based on a.o. EU fair trade regulations

Go read the terms for whatever EU payment processor you have. They all have basically the same terms on this topic. No child pornography, no rape, and so forth. That is what is being
"censored." This is not a unique set of rules for mastercard and visa.

Komarimaru 25 Jul @ 10:31pm

Originally posted by sneezyfido:
I am not Australian, nor American, and I do not use these payment processors.

The consequence of Valve bowing to this lot is that I will hold off any further purchases on Steam until they tell those payment processors "NO" and revert these illegal* bans.

* based on a.o. EU fair trade regulations

If you check all the EU based payment processors? They all have similar rules as well.

Pocahawtness 25 Jul @ 10:32pm

Yes, blame everything on women again.

The core of this is not about censorship. It is about angry parents objecting to porn games being sold on the gaming platforms their kids use, without robust age verification.

You can never win against angry parents. They are passionate about their cause.

Mathew Mii 25 Jul @ 10:43pm

Remember Prohibition? That didn't work and it just made things worse. Let's not repeat history.

Crazy Tiger 25 Jul @ 10:47pm

Originally posted by Komarimaru:
Originally posted by sneezyfido:
I am not Australian, nor American, and I do not use these payment processors.

The consequence of Valve bowing to this lot is that I will hold off any further purchases on Steam until they tell those payment processors "NO" and revert these illegal* bans.

* based on a.o. EU fair trade regulations
If you check all the EU based payment processors? They all have similar rules as well.

Many banks in the EU use Mastercard/Visa.

Many people use these 2 without knowing it.

XerXes 25 Jul @ 11:12pm

Another result of denying people a SAFE outlet for their imaginations (by restricting their choices), might be that instead of staying home (hunched over a computer or console); some kinds of people might be forced to go out into the REAL WORLD more often - possibly getting drunk or into trouble - in an attempt to avoid boredom.

So, instead of 'protecting' people, activists could generate a wave of crime or anti-social activity ON THE STREETS, rather than limiting things like violence to fictional worlds within games.

Last edited by XerXes; 25 Jul @ 11:19pm

videomike_Ultimate_Plushie 25 Jul @ 11:14pm

Originally posted by XerXes:
Another result of denying people a SAFE outlet for their imaginations (by restricting their choices), might be that instead of staying home (hunched over a computer or console), people might be forced to go out into the real world more often - possibly getting drunk or into trouble - in an attempt to avoid boredom.

So, instead of 'protecting' people, activists could generate a wave of crime or anti-social activity on the streets, rather than limiting violence to fictional worlds within games.

And worse, if they went out of their way to spend money seeking out indulgence in their vice, they will likely take the oppurtunity if it presents offline just as well. Such people need a short term stay at a mental institution not demonization and isolation to make the mental illness WORSE

Fibre🌹 25 Jul @ 11:44pm

You know the amazing thing? Of course the one that spoke out to Visa and Mastercard is an Australian organisation. Led by a psychotic woman screaming about womens rights even though many women are against her. They bombarded Visa and Mastercard, and that ultimately made them pressure Valve and other websites to change. Is there another service besides Visa and Mastercard? Surely by now some rich person takes this opportunity and makes a new service where you can buy whatever you want without the worry of them changing their ideas and another thing I don't understand.. Wouldn't Visa, Mastercard and Paypal be losing money if they keep pushing this censorship on NSFW?

Globally it's one of the things that is most purchased regardless if you're a good boy scout, sex sells astronomically. As a business or a service, wouldn't you want to delve into that endless profit of human lust? I don't understand companies making decisions where they could've made way more profit but they settle with sending a message which never ends well

Last edited by Fibre🌹; 25 Jul @ 11:46pm

#10

Shreddy 25 Jul @ 11:57pm

Originally posted by Pocahawtness:
Yes, blame everything on women again.

The core of this is not about censorship. It is about angry parents objecting to porn games being sold on the gaming platforms their kids use, without robust age verification.

You can never win against angry parents. They are passionate about their cause.

The group that caused this is a hardcore group of militant feminists that only allow women to join the organisation and it was done under the guise of stopping violence against women, not a parents group at all and nothing to do with parents complaining about their children.

Last edited by Shreddy; 25 Jul @ 11:58pm

#11

Chronocide 26 Jul @ 12:26am

Originally posted by XerXes:
Another result of denying people a SAFE outlet for their imaginations (by restricting their choices), might be that instead of staying home (hunched over a computer or console); some kinds of people might be forced to go out into the REAL WORLD more often - possibly getting drunk or into trouble - in an attempt to avoid boredom.

So, instead of 'protecting' people, activists could generate a wave of crime or anti-social activity ON THE STREETS, rather than limiting things like violence to fictional worlds within games.

If you could prove this, that rape games were preventing actual rape, that would be noble peace prize worthy.

Like seriously, go prove this.

#12

ガブ - Gabu 26 Jul @ 12:37am

Originally posted by Chronocide:
[A bunch of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ lies and bad-faith arguments]

How much are you getting paid to astroturf? Payment processors should all just burn... in hell, of course, I'm not advocating for any illegal action.

#13

ガブ - Gabu 26 Jul @ 12:40am

Originally posted by Shreddy:
The group that caused this is a hardcore group of militant feminists that only allow women to join the organisation and it was done under the guise of stopping violence against women, not a parents group at all and nothing to do with parents complaining about their children.

They're not really feminists, though - they're a convenient scapegoat, almost certainly funded by one of the christofascist oligarchs trying to consolidate power (Bezos, Musk, Murdoch and their ilk). The goals are to: 1. destabilize independent services; 2. absorb wealth through market manipulation; 3. create social chaos so people have a difficult time fighting them.

Last edited by ガブ - Gabu; 26 Jul @ 12:42am

#14

ガブ - Gabu 26 Jul @ 12:45am

Originally posted by Fibre🌹:
Is there another service besides Visa and Mastercard?

Message your politicians - pester them with phone calls and e-mails, even letters if you can. It IS possible to fight the Mastercard/Visa duopoly. As an example, Brazil has a system called PIX that effectively tells payment providers to sod off. (fairly open, BTW. Other countries are encouraged to adopt it). Europe is also in the process of adopting such a system.

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Date Posted: 25 Jul @ 10:15pm

Posts: 26

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