(As a side note to the moderators, this post is not a request for money. No links to anything have been provided either. Please do not remove my post. Thank you)
There is a growing concern in the adult media genre that warrants me to write about this, which needs to be further elaborated and spread about with not just me but other adult content creators and the general consumer. I'm sure that others have been brought aware of the current predicament with Steam and other game distribution platforms that are forced to remove certain video games due to pressures brought about by payment processors (i.e. Paypal, Mastercard, and Visa). With the recent news, Steam had to remove some games dealing with adult content, including other platforms such as itch.IO that recently removed ALL adult video games from its platform. Meanwhile, certain activist groups, claiming to have pressured these payment processors, are celebrating the removal of these games.
The situation has become one part of an alarming trend for adult and NSFW content creators. There are already cases where artists who create NSFW artwork are blocked from being paid through Paypal, due to limitations implemented by the payment processor. In Japan, Visa/Mastercard implemented limitations preventing people from supporting anime and manga creators (in other words, they block your ability to pay them). Meanwhile, artists who worked on various platforms lose their ability to be paid because the payment processors deny service. I even fear for Furaffinity and its future as well due to the ongoing threat of payment processors.
Now, while the activists will claim victory in this, people don't realize that because of the actions taken by payment processors to halt payments, it opens up a door to censorship and the freedom of expression. Games that have violence or anything deemed "offensive" can be targeted next. If it isn't the same activist group, then it'll be another group that will pressure your payment processors to stop something that you enjoy or support.
Unfortunately, this goes far beyond just video games. I, myself, create adult content through stories, much like many individuals who enjoy a hobby, trying to turn it into a business. The growing trend in censorship has had an impact on me as it has on everyone else. On certain websites, such as Literotica (to name an example), where I had long discontinued uploading my stories because my stories and snippets of the audiobooks were being censored and blocked (in their own words) to "protect the reader's feelings." On Patreon, some of my posts (featuring artwork that I commissioned to be made) were flagged/taken down, and I had to reupload under heavily restricted means due to pressure from payment processors. I have to find other payment processors just to pay some of my artists.
Because this door is being opened wide, anything and everything can be targeted. My stories deal with human/anthro relations, including love, romance, and sex. Did you know that when the game Mass Effect came out in 2007, media outlets blasted the game, claiming that it was promoting their definition of "Bestiality" because your main character can have a romantic sexual relationship with an Asari, a blue-skinned alien woman who was very humanlike? Yes, crap like this happens in social media, invigorating others to do something. How long does it take before dumb groups turn around and advocate for payment processors to deny payments/funding to me or others who write stories like I do, because they deem it as offensive content? Religion, politics, LGBTQ+, everything is on the chopping block because the Karens, SJWs, and Payment processors will now dictate to you what you can and can't buy or support. You give an inch to these activist groups and payment processors, and they will take a mile.
Now there are attempts to possibly resolve this, including the S.401 - Fair Access to Banking Act, which might be able to target groups like PayPal, Mastercard, or Visa in the payment processors' war against adult content creators. Japan's government is essentially going to war with Visa/Mastercard over blocking others from supporting anime and manga creators. The fact is that everyone needs to get active. We need to join up and repel the censorship. Sign petitions and notify your congressmen about the long-developing issue with payment processors.
I do everything I can to support those who work with me when it comes to making my stories. I promote my artists, composers, animators, my voice actress, my supporters, and so forth when it comes to creating what I love. Activists and SJWs will no doubt weaponise your feelings to devalue another. They will claim that you are encouraging evil, deviant, malcontent behavior, not realising that you know the greater issue that is at stake. Many adult content creators are not horrible, degenerative monsters who want to watch the world burn. They come from all facets of life, me being a Navy veteran, just to name an example. I've seen great stories that have come out from Japan and other content creators, with fresh ideas, plots, characters, and so much more. I can say that of the anime that I get a chance to sit down and enjoy are actually downright amazing and provide original stories, something that is sadly becoming lost in current Hollywood. The people who create anime and manga are men and women who coexist peacefully and harmoniously with one another, even going so far as to respect the original IP from which it originated. The same can be said of my artists and composers who work all around the world to create the work that you can see and enjoy. The same can be said of my supporters, who love and care for those around them. Don't let the few take away what you enjoy. Stand up and let your voice be heard. Fight the censorship and support your right to free speech.