all i want is enough money to get piercings and tattoos and buy weed and get my friends gifts and travel and have my own studio space and an apartment with office space and donate to charity and not worry about medical bills and have a pet. thats all.
I hate to go through this all over again. Last night, Itch.io, one of the most popular platforms for hosting queer and adult independent media, went through a large-scale crackdown on adult content.
This was primarily aimed at games, but novels and comics were hit in the process. Most adult content has been de-listed from the site's search, and some creators were banned without warning. Any funds banned creators have not been paid are currently being withheld by Itch.io.
This crackdown was done, as it always is, because of payment processors like Mastercard and Visa threatening to pull their services.
The payment processors caved to an influence campaign by Australian extremist anti-pornography group Collective Shout, who have been inundating Visa and Mastercard with calls to force video game platforms to stop hosting adult content - which, of course, includes anything queer.
Collective Shout claim to have sent in 1000 emails to get this result, but there are a WAY more than a thousand of us. We need as many people as possible to make as much noise as we can!
Below the cut are numbers and scripts, all you need to do is follow the step by step guide.
Graphic, contact info, alt text, and script by voiddebris on Bluesky, also available collected in a handy document:
⊘Anti-Censorship Campaign ⊘ ⟡ Complaint Letter Template Customer Complaint Dept, This message is to lodge an official complaint about
Paypal:
Phone (US): 1-888-221-1161
Phone (outside US): 1-402-935-2050
Hours: 6am - 6pm PT
Online (for non-users or logged out - UK bc US site ONLY allows logged in users)
Mastercard:
Phone (US): 1-800-627-8372
Phone (outside US): 1-636-722-7111
Online form
Visa:
Phone (US): 1-800-847-2911
Non-US numbers
Online form
Script:
Customer Complaint Dept,
This message is to lodge an official complaint about the ongoing rampant restrictions your company has placed on legal sales made by legitimate businesses.
These restrictions are not only counter to the concept of freedom of speech and expression, but they harm consumers, businesses, and they harm your company’s bottom line.
The following actions are absolutely necessary to protect the freedoms of your client base and the sustainability of legitimate business practices:
1. Remove from your Terms of Service any mention barring the use of your service for sale and purchase of legal products.
2. Contact Steam (Valve), Itch.io, and any other company you have previously put pressure on to retract your content restrictions.
Put in place protections to prevent such restrictions from being put in place in the future without ample warning and time to contest them.
If these changes aren't made then I, along with many others will be forced to seek other options for processing payments.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Customer
***
OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO
Sign this petition from the ACLU:
Mastercard's new policy unfairly targets the adult content industry, making sex workers more vulnerable, especially Black trans women. It mu
Americans - contact your representatives about payment processors acting as censors! You can find your reps’ contact information on 5calls.org.
Script, from here:
Hello Representative/Senator [LAST NAME],
-or-
Hello office of Representative/Senator [LAST NAME],
My name is [YOUR FIRST NAME/SCREEN NAME] and I am one of your constituents.
I am calling today to express my concerns with technological censorship. Legal and legitimate adult entertainment is being banned in this country. These bans are not by legislators, but by payment processors like Mastercard and Visa.
Mastercard and Visa are improperly creating legislation online through their user and merchant policies. They are banning creator and user access to content that is legal and legitimate. They are inciting fear and panic to encourage censorship.
Please take a stand against this impermissible censorship. This is a direct attack on an adult's right to legal content. No one but the legislative branch should be allowed to create legislation.
Please support the Federal Trade Commission in their stand against technological censorship to protect the first amendment.
Thank you for taking the time to listen today.
Hello,
I hope you’re all doing well. 🌿
I need your help to share my family's story and raise awareness about our struggle. Every voice counts, and your support means the world. 🙏
💬 Please reblog my pinned post or, if you're able, consider donating just $5—it could be life-changing for those facing unimaginable hardship.
Your kindness and solidarity make a real difference. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! 🤍✨
@abedmajeed
Hey everyone, my name is Abdelmajed. I don’t usually talk much about myself, but today, I want to share a little piece of my story.
I was born and raised in Gaza, a place that has always been my home 🏡. I grew up surrounded by my family, my friends, and the streets that I knew like the back of my hand. Life wasn’t always easy, but we had love, laughter, and dreams. I used to think that no matter what happened, home would always be here. But life has a way of changing things in ways we never expect.
Over the past months, everything I once knew has disappeared. The streets that were once filled with children playing are now silent. The houses that held so many memories are now just rubble. And the people I loved—some of them are gone forever. 💔
✅️ Vetted by @gazavetters {537} ✅️
My name is Abdelmajed, and I am a survivor of the war in Gaza. Everything I once knew has been taken away—my home, my safety, and the people
