News & Update - Payment Processors' Crusade & What You Can Do About It

Ooh boy. July has been crazy so far for us, hasn't it? First, Steam cracking down on adult games, and now, indie platform darling itchio bends the knee as well, deindexing (basically 'hiding') all of the adult games, with the warning that it will ban specific games in the future when the new rules of what's acceptable have been defined more clearly.

Problem is, as you already know, that these rules are decided by non-governmental forces whose actual interests and goals are dubious at best, currently inscrutable at worst.

If you believe the censorship stops here, you are sadly mistaken. The pressure groups involved in this situation are well-known for making bad-faith arguments and misrepresenting content in games such as Detroit Becoming Human to further their cause, so to think the most shocking adult games are their only targets is naïve. The plan is always the same with these pundits : start with the obvious shocking content and then, emboldened by their early victories, go after content made by marginalized people. Extinguishing varied voices in art is how you worsen the world, not make it better.

---

But what can you do about it?

Here are a few starting points of easily-accessible ways to add your weight to the pushback against these pressure groups :

• SIGN THE ACLU PETITION AGAINST MASTERCARD : Mastercard is a payment processor that cowardly does not appear to have a public-facing contact form, so a more direct way to communicate your discontent is to sign this petition from the American Civil Liberties Union.

• CONTACT VISA DIRECTLY TO EXPRESS YOUR DISAGREEMENT : You can write to Visa directly! It might not seem like much, but every voice added together can become a vocal shout. Linked here is the Australian contact site, because this is the country where this whole thing began.

• DONATE TO THE INSTITUTE FOR FREE SPEECH : Most western countries have similar initiatives, where you can support groups to fight the legal fight for you. If you can, with your donation, add a message explaining the causes you want to bring attention to with more urgency. Linked here is the American version of such a group. Be warned to make your own research about your local group before donating, as 'Free speech' is a notion that is often diverted for various political purposes.

These are just a few ideas of actions you can take right now and won't take much of your time. Of course, it is quite important to stay informed and support the right initiatives. For example, I am writing this in a rush, and I do hope I am linking to the correct Free Speech defend fund, haha.

---

Also, one final note.

The world is an ugly place sometimes, and you will often find it full of hate. The pressure groups behind this censorship initiative are calling themselves 'radical feminists' but please do not let them define the word 'feminist' for you, that would be falling for their propaganda. Instead, ask yourself : if these groups are so eager to misrepresent the videogames they are targeting to censor them, WHAT ELSE ARE THEY LYING ABOUT? What other parts of reality are they twisting to fit their battle? Don't fall for it and let it fill your heart with hate.

---

I'll post again about what it all means for Peach Punch in the near future. Until then, stay safe out there!