CW: some sources include descriptions of abusive or otherwise upsetting content.
Between the increasing dominance of major platforms, the rise of so-called ‘AI’ services, and the spread of platform decay maximising profits over user experience, we’ve all seen the internet change a lot in recent years. But there’s one area where big changes are happening fast: in the world of pornography.
In recent weeks alone there has been a vast increase in restrictions on content in porn games, alongside the implementation of age verification policies on porn sites. Both developments could have significant implications for LGBTQIA+ content in future.
In July, Steam - the largest platform for selling PC games - started delisting hundreds of adult games, more strictly enforcing its policies on what kind of content is ‘acceptable’ on its platform. Soon after, major indie games platform itch.io followed suit, publishing a statement that shed some light on what was behind the change.
It followed payment processors who handle transactions on these platforms - including Paypal, Visa, Mastercard - putting pressure on them to deplatform certain content. Faced with the threat of not being able to process funds at all, Steam and itch scrambled to comply.
The content in question is mostly games that include themes like incest, rape and sex slavery. It is largely content that most of us would find abhorrent, and may in some cases be illegal in certain jurisdictions.
That ‘may’ is important though. Payment processors’ policies on what content they will allow are vague approximations of the law. That vagueness is leading to inconsistency in which games are impacted by the move.
Some incest-themed games have been delisted, while other games with similar themes by the same creators have not. In some cases, games that depict legal, safe, sane and consensual kink content, or that deal with the theme of abuse in a non-pornographic fashion, have been affected as well.
So why have the payment processors decided to suddenly clamp down on NSFW content? It’s been claimed as a victory by conservative lobbying groups, led by Australian organisation Collective Shout.
Collective Shout has the backing of a number of prominent anti-porn lobbying groups, including American lobbyist groups with religious roots. The group has previously campaigned against mainstream games like Grand Theft Auto V and Detroit Become Human on the grounds that they depict “violence against women”, even when that depiction is empathetic and victim-focused.
Meanwhile, beyond the world of video games, the porn industry is wrestling with new requirements to implement age verification for consumers.
The UK’s Online Safety Act, which was widely criticised for its vague language during its passage through parliament, has brought in extremely strict requirements of age verification for online porn. While preventing under-18s from accessing porn could in theory protect vulnerable young people from harmful content, industry insiders are alleging that the actual rules put in place are entirely ineffective. Consumers are already discussing how to use VPNs, social media sites and search engines to get around the bans. And that’s before you consider how many will move to more predatory parts of the internet instead. All of this is directing revenue away from porn platforms and creators.
It’s clear these restrictions are affecting more content than just the specific depictions of abuse that conservative lobbyists claim to oppose, and they’ve also been shown as ineffective in preventing minors accessing adult content. So what do they actually achieve?
First, they make it harder to make money creating legitimate, legal pornographic content. There are many problems and abuses within the online porn industry, but sex work is work and porn workers deserve to be properly compensated for what they do.
Second, they set an important precedent that conservative lobbyists can influence the policies of the payment processors which so many services and industries rely on. And that’s where things get worrying from an LGBTQIA+ perspective.
We’ve all seen the headlines about lawmakers in the US attempting to make different parts of LGBTQIA+ culture, from drag shows to queer books, illegal. Now, with an explicitly anti-LGBTQIA+ federal government in charge, those changes to the law are becoming more drastic and wide-ranging.
It’s not a stretch to imagine conservative lobbyists extending ‘Don’t Say LGBTQ’ laws that restrict content taught in schools to media more broadly. Collective Shout has already set a precedent: they can successfully lobby payment processors to clamp down on content that might be illegal. So if those kinds of laws do come into force there will be a clear avenue for them to start immediately defunding LGBTQIA+ content.
Even before we get to that stage, these developments in the adult content industry represent dangerous moves towards censorship by the backdoor. A coalition of porn creators, game designers and anti-censorship groups are calling for action to work against this move.
Whether you’re interested in porn or not, this could be seen as a wider encroachment on freedom of expression. It could easily be extended to deem LGBTQIA+ content as ‘adult’, just as we’ve seen so many times in the past.
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