<
https://www.eurogamer.net/kickstarter-adult-content-rules-censorship-apology>
“Crowdfunding website Kickstarter - a place many video game projects have
originated - has issued an unflinching apology after 'botching' new guidelines
it released last week. The changes had sought to tighten the rules around
adult-oriented projects raising money there, resulting in a fierce backlash and
calls of censorship.
"Honestly? We botched it," Kickster chief operating officer Sean Leow wrote in
an update post. "The rules didn't land the way we intended, and the response
from our community let us know loud and clear that we got it wrong."
The updated guidelines were issued because of clashes with Kickstarter's
payment provider Stripe, Leow explained. Simply put, Kickstarter and Stripe
have different attitudes towards mature content, and what Kickstarter deemed
okay would sometimes not be seen as okay by Stripe.
This led to "a growing number" of campaigns being okayed on Kickstarter and
then suspended mid-funding by Stripe. The updated rules were an attempt to
"close the gap" and provide one set of rules people could work by.
"That was the intent," Leow wrote, "but the decision we made was an abandonment
of the core counterculture, f*ck the establishment spirit of Kickstarter, and
it left our community vulnerable.
"The decision we made wasn't the right one, and in an attempt to create rules
that could work across both Kickstarter and Stripe, we rolled out something
that was too restrictive and too far removed from what we actually believe."
As a result, Kickstarter has decided to scrap the newly issued mature
guidelines and revert to the previous version, while it works on new guidelines
for the future.
"This isn't the easiest route," Leow cautioned. It means approved campaigns can
still be suspended by Stripe mid-funding - "that's the reality of operating
within a payment system we don't fully control" - and even Kickstarter
advocating for these campaigns might not change that outcome. To help creators
avoid this, Leow provided a link to Stripe's guidelines on mature content and
Kickstarter has create its own guide for dealing with mature content in order
to avoid antagonising Stripe.
"Though this route is an imperfect temporary solution, it allows us to stand in
what we believe in and use the space between our rules and Stripe's rules to
keep fighting for creators," he added. "That means continuing to push Stripe
for flexibility, clarity, and consistency, working to carve out exceptions
where we can, and finding solutions that don't leave creators feeling censored
before they've even launched."”
Via Violet Blue’s
Threat Model - Cybersecurity: May 26, 2026
https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-26-159268484
A number of other platforms, notably including Patreon, have also been
struggling with blacklash from their userbase as a result of rule changes
driven by pressure from the payment processors.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
