Why aren't payment processors required to be neutral like internet providers and telecoms? You just process a payment between two consenting parties for legal goods and services. Why should you get to restrict the types of goods and services that pass through you?
this post was submitted on 13 May 2026
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Agree 100%. Payment providers should be classified as common carriers, prohibited from discriminating against any legal business or product.
They own enough politicians to keep any possible change under committee review indefinitely. IF we did pass a law they also own enough judges that it would die in a shadow docket. I love oligarchy, basically anything broken is broken because some rich ass hole is paying for it to be kept that way.
Probably vastages from times where they just started and had to fight regular banking cartels trying to link them to crime, as they themselves do with crypto.
I doubt it. This weird prudishness seems to be new. I can see them being dodgy about processing payments for weed stores as it's still illegal federally. But they're not acting like this has anything to do with the law. Restricting games sales in Steam that includes adult material, and kickstarter contributions for Adult projects had nothing to do with crime. And it's no coincidence that it's happening at the same time that states and some countries are requiring invasive data collection for age verification for visiting adult websites. There is a concerted political right wing effort to push prudish restrictions on everyone by any means possible.
Friendly reminder that this is yet another reason people need to keep paying in cash. Eventually these groups will run out of online scapegoats and there will be a more generalized push to control what you can and can't buy, on or offline.
Sure, it's convenient to pop that card down or use Apple pay, etc: but this is why we as a society should not be beholden to a handful of third-party payment processors.
Pay in cash whenever possible. Even if you don't believe there will be bigger (offline) issues later, taking money away from the snakes is not a bad thing, and it's easy to do. They make money on every transaction. The convenience of not dealing with change is not free.
Agreed. I am a cash man these days. Fuck having all my purchases being watched by big brother. Anything I can pay for with cash, I do. Plus, there is no screen rotated your way awkwardly asking for a tip before you have even been served.
Where is the source of liability that is making payment processors so adverse to adult content? You're never going to convince me it's a morality thing, they only care about the money. So where is the added risk/cost in processing adult content?
It's pressure from a Christian Fascist Australian group called "Collective Shout". They were the people behind itch.io and Steam being forced to purge things too.
No offense to Australia, but is the Australian market big enough for them to really care?
They're a front group, not the main force
They’re the ones making the push, but the fact is this is the result of payment processor monopolies.
As monopolies they should have the power to say fuck you to fascists.
Maybe they don't have issue with banning it.
Also, while we're here, I'd like to share this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Mountain_Mandate
Oh, and also:
In 2010, Collison co-founded Stripe, which in 2011 received investment of $2 million including from PayPal co-founders Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and SV Angel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Collison
It's backed by all the fascists.
Monopolies are inherently intertwined with fascism.
It's not real pressure, but it's certainly a convenient excuse if you're ideologically aligned with said group anyways.
Do you know that for a fact in this case? It was reported on the Valve/Itch thing last year, but that doesn't mean it's them this time.
They're captured by the Christian agenda
You're right,
I mean, don't all those 'pay' adult sites require your credit card subscription?
They don't seem to have a problem processing those?
Wasn't there an issue with pornhub? They were forced to scrub their servers of any unverified content.
Why the actual fuck are these credit companies allowed so much unbridled power within our society? They can unilaterally exile whole sections of society. Why?
Stripe has absolutely zero problems doing payment processing for the racists on givesendgo tho...
Or defending Israel's genocide of Palestinians...
It's a shit company and if they say they're doing anything because of "morals" it's a reminder that some people's morals are shit
Racism, genocide, violence... that's ok. but god forbid adults have consentual sex or consume consentual content made by adults
In 2010, Collison co-founded Stripe, which in 2011 received investment of $2 million including from PayPal co-founders Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, and venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, and SV Angel.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Collison
Correct.
It's (techno)fascists all the way down.
Because forcing an industry into the shadows is a great way to kill it and reduce the harm it causes.
/s
Time to switch payment providers.
Every time I use my country's own payment processor (Pix), I do so with a smile knowing that VISA/Mastercard wont get a dime
I keep asking why the US doesn't have a federally controlled payment processor. Well, I know why, but one can dream I guess.
If the US had a federally controlled payment processor they'd just end up with Republicans trying to limit what it could be used for. No porn, no abortions, etc.
That would be communism, duh!
Brazil has a stronger democracy than the USA now
To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to jerk off to.
Damn, I just backed a project that doesn’t have adult content right now, but conceivably could in the future just because it’s a slice of life comic about adults (also sci fi but that’s irrelevant to the overall point). I wonder how this is going to affect funded but not yet disbursed projects.
Especially since the restrictions are so severe… you can’t do a ton of legitimate art if you can’t show nip or butt.
Fuck kickstarter
The problem is payment processors and their stranglehold on commerce.
A rational government would have reigned them in long ago.
But because no one has, even "big" corps like kickstarter are at their mercy.
And the payment processors
And the christians forcing their delusional thinking upon the masses.
This is the real problem. The payment processors wouldn't give a shit if it wasn't for a very vocal minority of batshit religious busy-bodies.
Nah, corporate monopolies are the real issue here. If it wasn’t christofascists it’d be a different group targeting something else.
No, corps won't care about this without their sky daddy. https://quokk.au/c/australia/p/909903/the-us-christian-anti-lgbtq-hate-group-involved-in-the-giggle-v-tickle-court-case
Yupp this is the most dangerous.
"Oh no people are starting to think this is all bullshit! What do we do? I know, let's control them that will do the trick!"
We should stop tolerating Christianity is this is how it's gonna behave