tldr: Australian pressure group Collective Shout has claimed responsibility for the recent Itch.io and Steam developments that have seen the platforms change how they deal with - and in some cases remove - NSFW games and content from their respective platforms.

The group had already been closely linked with the situation, which has seen Itch.io and Steam scramble to appease payment providers like Visa as they suddenly took an interest in the kind of games available on the platforms, especially those which contravened rules and “standards” the payment providers apparently had. It led to Itch.io deindexing all NSFW content from its browse and search pages, and Steam introducing vague new rules about adult content, while removing a slew of games.

“In response to false claims and misinformation about our campaign, we’re setting the record straight,” wrote Collective Shout in a Facebook update. "Some have asked why we involved payment processors, and others have claimed we are responsible for Itch.io removing all NSFW content.

"We raised our objection to r*pe and incest games on Steam for months, and they ignored us for months. We approached payment processors because Steam did not respond to us.

“We called on Itch.io to remove rpe and incest games that we argued normalised violence and abuse of women. Itch.io made the decision to remove all NSFW content. Our objections were to content that involved sxualised violence and torture of women.”

Collective Shout shared a timeline of the campaign on its website, noting how it began with No Mercy, a game which involves extreme sexual violence, being brought to its in March. The group’s actions - a mixture of petitioning, emailing, and lobbying - began in early April and led to the game being removed from sale later that month.

opfar.v30
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Maybe, just maybe, Steam stops spamming me with low-effort-porn-slop game recommendations.

@[email protected]
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Maybe then try to not look into those yourself?

I’ve never gotten those reca because I don’t look for them.

@[email protected]
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83M

Time to put some pressure on the pressure group.

AlphaOmega
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Next they are banning sex toy purchases, r rated movies, tabacco, vape and alcohol.

Pup Biru
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next they’ll probably want to ban LGBT content since it’s “clearly pornographic”

@[email protected]
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Clearly you didn’t read the article

Pup Biru
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or i share similar concerns with the person from the quote in the final part of the article…

i’m not sure how bringing up something in the article makes it “clear” that i didn’t read said article

@[email protected]
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Nor did you read between the lines.

redwattlebird
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Have you gone to their (Collective Shout) website to check out their successful campaigns? They’ve taken down a manufacturer on Temu who makes silicon heads used for piercing. Apparently the heads looked too much like children.

@[email protected]
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I can understand why they have problems with incest but what’s so wrong about rope games?

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Because Jesus wept. Puritans are running the show as of now

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sounds like it’s time to bring the 90s back. rotten.com here we go.

they want to stop the sale and purchase of adult content, so just give it away for free. shareware that shit and spread it like VD.

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Unironically it will bring more people to dark corners of the net, foul content was always free. Now i’m not going for these games, but also comparing the entire nsfw genre to specific games is disingenuous. At the same time violence and shocking real life images are fine, right?

Nsfw involves adult themes that aren’t sexual.

That means censoring the self expression of consenting adults.

This creates a huge bottleneck that eventually just leads to this growing in the back of the visible. Porn addiction is a problem, sure. How did pre-teens gain access to this content? Didn’t parents give them a fully capable computer at all times?

Back when i used a computer, I only had access to research and office, also flash games. Other than that I had other devices and offline games, on cd.

Modern devices have better parental controls but nobody uses them, old computers had virtually none. Turns out you can do your parenting.

The dangers of this privacy invasive solution is the exposure of personal ID to questionable places, while bringing people towards bad places, that don’t ask for things.

Kinda like pirating a game as a kid, because you couldn’t buy it, but you only got viruses afterwards. Same deal.

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Theocratic dickheads and the proscription of sexual expression. Name a more classic pairing.

Yes, rape/abuse games are gross gooner bullshit but to paint all adult content with the same brush is just asinine. Huniepop is as much a rape/abuse simulator as it is a racing a game.

@[email protected]
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We need to ignore them, they’re obfuscating from the real issue. Payment processors should not have the ability to police content, full stop, end of discussion.

The person who tattled is absolutely irrelevant and a distraction

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@[email protected]
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Yo I’m NGL I’m usually really passionate when I feel my rights are infringed but I do not feel like my rights are being infringed. This isn’t the same thing as requiring ID to view NSFW content; this issue is not a legal one.

It’s not even like porn is js inacessible now, most of it is found on Patreon, which is both unaffected and literally accepts cryptocurrency. I will admit im suprised to see itch.io take action cos it has a reputation as a porn service, but who tf consumes porn on steam? I do not believe “what they define as NSFW will expand!” Or “next, games featuring a gay character will be banned!”, either. You are fucking bugging if you think Valve would let that happen. All they would need to do is lean heavier into steam giftcards, potentially selling them digitally, and start accepting crypto 'till the processors wanna play ball.

I don’t understand why people are bitching that the companies that they choose to use have so much power over their purchasing decisions. “First this, next sex toys! Then contraceptives!” Like Jesus fuck bro have you not heard of cash?

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Detroit: Become Human is not a porn game.

@[email protected]
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When was the last time you bought a Steam game with cash?

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Your point is sound because I usually use a credit card for this, but most of my Steam purchases come from buying gift cards. However, I could easily buy those gift cards with cash.

Your comment implies this is not possible/common.

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So it requires the effort and capability to go to a place that happens to have those cards. In some areas, that is more difficult and unlikely than others, and can be more difficult for the less financially fortunate.

Thus there’s added utility cost to the person when otherwise the existing digital payment model would be more accessible.

i.e. it’s a regressive solution and less ideal.

I liken it to the utility or economic tax that is attempting to vote in some areas where they make it more difficult to actually do it.

@[email protected]
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In Australia at least, those cards are everywhere in populated areas. Supermarkets and department stores pretty-much all stock them. I’d say that over 90% of Australians live within 3km of a store that sells Steam cards and takes cash. Most of us even closer than that.

@[email protected]
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No one will lament the removal of No Mercy from sale on Steam, but whenever a net like this is thrown over an entire area of perceived problematic content, there will be well-intentioned games caught in the net too. Specifically, LGBTQ+ games are under threat - games that don’t align with the Christian values underpinning the pressure group Collective Shout.

In the article that you claimed to read…

@[email protected]
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I do not believe “what they define as NSFW will expand!”

And that’s the core of your problem, puritan activists don’t generally have the capacity to think “actually, the thing i wanted other people to not be able to see is gone, i think I’ll leave it there” because the censorship isn’t the goal, the goal is control.

It’s even worse with organised puritans , because even if a few hang it up you’ll always find a few willing to just go a little further or have differing opinions on what is “acceptable”.

I would lay good money on this not actually being as far as they originally wanted, it was just what they could get for now.

I don’t understand why people are bitching that the companies that they choose to use have so much power over their purchasing decisions. “First this, next sex toys! Then contraceptives!” Like Jesus fuck bro have you not heard of cash?

Firstly, it’s the payment processors, you know the monopoly of companies that you need to take payments from regular people.

Secondly, payment processors can and will stop providing payment services for shops that carry physical goods they deem unacceptable.

(yes crypto exists, no it’s not equivalent yet) (yes steam cards exist, no it’s not equivalent and unless i’ve missed something itch.io doesn’t have an card system)

As far as cash goes, is there a new slot where you can put the cash monies directly in to the pc/console and it credits your account ?

Or do you mean, go to the store and buy a physical copy of the hundreds of thousands of games that don’t have physical editions ?

@[email protected]
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First off, I appreciate the response.

Yes, I understand that if these people could have it their way, any kind of mature content would be completely illegal. The reason I don’t feel strongly about this is strictly because this isn’t a legal threat, and I don’t think it has that capacity to become one. Lobbying is expensive, and I don’t believe that an Australian organization has the capacity to seriously affect global/western culture more than this. Quite frankly, its impressive they were able to pull this much off, and I fully expect ts to blow over in 3 years tops.

Don’t get me wrong- its not that I don’t care about censorship, its that I don’t really view this as censorship because the consumption and purchasing of the “censored” product is still completely possible. Contrarily, if this were signed into law I would have a big fucking problem with it.

With regards to the “companies they choose to use” point I made, I was in fact referring to payment processors, hence why I proposed crypto, cash and giftcards; as in purchasing a steam giftcard with cash from a store. Obviously I don’t expect people to not have credit cards, but the anonymity and security cash provides is almost never used because people find it less convenient.

The reason I brought this up is because I have seen it proposed that this issue will expand beyond the scope of digital marketplaces, which I find downright laughable. People WILL stop using visa cards if you can’t use it to buy condoms and there’s an ATM in the gas station.

I firmly believe that if this issue is pressed further, at the very least Valve will js stop accepting payment directly through payment processors.

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Fair enough, came in a bit hot there, my bad.

I’d argue that it not being a legal threat doesn’t matter too much in this case because they aren’t looking for legal control, so much as “effective” control.

If they can stop you without needing for it to be signed in to law, then they’ll take that, if they can get a law as well, then I’m sure they’ll take that too.

Don’t get me wrong- its not that I don’t care about censorship, its that I don’t really view this as censorship because the consumption and purchasing of the “censored” product is still completely possible. Contrarily, if this were signed into law I would have a big fucking problem with it.

Censorship isn’t a binary, but we can agree to disagree on that one i suppose.

To this part though

purchasing of the “censored” product is still completely possible

Not really, there are numerous titles available exclusively on itch.io and steam, those are effectively censored by your rationale as you can no longer purchase them at all.

Honestly steam gift cards don’t work at all here because it’s not a ban on buying the games using a card, it’s a ban on steam listing the titles at all, on threat of losing the payment services.

Crypto cash and gift-cards are great if you have effective access to them.

  • Crypto is out for most people for obvious reasons (technical knowledge, dearth of places that actually accept crypto)
  • Cash works until it doesn’t and governments and big tech are trying their hardest to make it as difficult as possible, there is a big push to go cashless.

It’s not that people find cash less convenient because they are lazy (some are i suppose), it’s because it’s being purposely deprecated as much as possible, or just straight up doesn’t apply to the paradigm, such as online purchases.

The reason I brought this up is because I have seen it proposed that this issue will expand beyond the scope of digital marketplaces, which I find downright laughable.

As i said, this already happens, it’s weird in how it’s applied tbh, but that’s neither here nor there.

https://www.adyen.com/legal/list-restricted-prohibited

Mastercard just says : “brand-damaging Transactions” and doesn’t elaborate, at a quick glance.

A good example of this is casino’s and other gambling related physical locations, there are a lot of hoops to jump through to get a payment processor to work with gambling, assuming they even give you the time of day.

People WILL stop using visa cards if you can’t use it to buy condoms and there’s an ATM in the gas station.

Sure for that specific thing, hard to pay cash at amazon or other online only retailers.

I firmly believe that if this issue is pressed further, at the very least Valve will js stop accepting payment directly through payment processors.

That i’d be interested to see tbh, because as i said there isn’t an equally available alternative to card payment processors (and it’s not even close).

If they did go crypto only for instance, there’d be a big move to crypto for some, but that’d be a significant loss to take on principle alone.

Exatron
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I don’t understand why people are bitching that the companies that they choose to use have so much power over their purchasing decisions. “First this, next sex toys! Then contraceptives!” Like Jesus fuck bro have you not heard of cash?

Because that’s what groups like Collective Shout do, sparky. They think just acknowledging that LGBT people exist is “too adult”.

When was the last time you paid cash for a Steam game?

@[email protected]
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deleted by creator

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This is the worst outcome. At least if those games are for sale you can track who’s buying them and have a list of potential offenders.

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the Stasi are never gonna stop at the particular marginalized group you dislike. plus nobody’s offending shit, being a freak isn’t illegal (yet). acting like it is certainly helps move the overton window that way though

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I might not have worded it correctly, but if your aim is to keep women safe from sexual assault, then removing an outlet for people who want to do that, while also removing a potential indicator for that kind of behaviour its a double screw over.

Im well aware that its nothing to do with safety or decency and is just a motte and Bailey attack on our freedoms.

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gotcha, my whole issue was with the whole state surveillance of “dangerous people” part of it, because trans people are gonna end up on that list just for existing

0li0li
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They are ok with murder and war simulation then? ROFL Smells like another religious pressure group tbh, haven’t looked into them yet.

They should go after all violence in games and media then; we’ll see how well they can fend of the pressure… Not sure if they have the ressources to survive that, so I would LOVE to see them try.

Norah (pup/it/she)
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By all accounts they aren’t religious, we don’t have *gestures broadly to American Evangelicalism* going on here in Aus. They just seem to be TERFs and SWERFs.

The_Decryptor
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we don’t have gestures broadly to American Evangelicalism going on here in Aus.

Hillsong says hi.

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The religion of pure bigotry seems to be the most popular one these days, especially online

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Oh it goes deeper than that.

Check out their FAQ. They’re cool with the dehumanization of males too. They’re only advocating for “dehumanization” against females.

A game about torturing women? Unacceptable.

A game about torturing men? Acceptable 👍

They mention some bullshit about how one happens more often and the other doesn’t so that justifies being hypocrites.

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Why is their logo a pink asshole?

ms.lane
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Because they’re a bunch of fake feminist arseholes?

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@[email protected]
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Now I want to make a slaanesh space marine with this on its pauldron.

ZeroOne
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They can lobby ? Ok they’re a threat

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Steam ignored them, presumably, because they sell their products in accordance with the law, and that’s all that ought to matter.

@[email protected]
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hot take: people ought to start forming morals outside of legal morality. a Lotta freaks are gonna end up illegal otherwise and the freak factor certainly includes some thing you do that your prudish neighbor doesn’t like

Goodeye8
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In this context it’s definitely a hot take considering the prudish neighbor was able to make freaky shit “illegal” anyway, and in far greater capacity than any single government could. Rape and incest games ain’t for me but when they get banned because a handful of people decide for the rest of us how the world is supposed to look like without anyone else getting a say in the matter I take serious offense. At least if they went the legal route the process would’ve a) been transparent and given an opportunity for others to make a case and b) not instantly affect the entire world.

This “scary government is going to take away your rights” just leads to private enterprises taking away your rights without any oversight. This entire thing is a case in point. The government can take away your rights but at least you have a way to fight for your rights, what are you going to do against oligopolistic payment processors taking away your rights?

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i hate to inform you that these lobbying groups are acting exactly like a state would, actually. maybe don’t lecture to trans people and tell us how the state works, we interact with the state way more than you will ever have to 💋

what are you going to do against oligopolistic payment processors taking away your rights?

idk, what are YOU gonna do? are cis people gonna finally fight for trans autonomy or are they gonna act like us having autonomy is too insane?

are you gonna finally listen to us like when trans sex workers told you a decade ago that banks, the police and payment processors are policing our money or are you gonna let the issue fester because you don’t want your family to know you stand with trannies and whores?

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Berating people online who already agree with you is not how you get allies, dumbass.

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removed by mod

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what is it with tankies that has them always forming red-brown alliances instead of supporting trans leftists?

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removed by mod

Goodeye8
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Okay, the smug “you’re not one of us so don’t speak” argument… Alright, then we’re just not going to have a discussion. Just don’t forget that if one of these groups ever use payment providers to suppress trans rights you supported this.

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not surprising at all that you chose to go the blue MAGA “enjoy your camps, then” route instead of taking a step back. the only smug person here was you not realizing you’re way out of your depth

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‘Blue MAGA’? Oh shit, please don’t tell me you voted for trump!

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yeah, you got me. not liking liberals makes me a trump supporter. the overton window always ends at being a “progressive” slightly to the left of Ronald Reagan and anything beyond that is just the ice wall keeping us from finding out that the earth is flat

Goodeye8
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Do you know that you can edit your comment before you post? Because if you post and then edit the rest of comment in later others might miss that when replying? Anyway, not that you’ve actually addressed something in your previous comment I’m going to respond to that. I’m going to ignore what you’ve said right now because that shit is just too dumb to respond to.

idk, what are YOU gonna do?

I already complained to my government.

are cis people gonna finally fight for trans autonomy or are they gonna act like us having autonomy is too insane?

The fuck are you on about? I’m not against trans people. We should all have humane levels of rights.

are you gonna finally listen to us like when trans sex workers told you a decade ago that banks, the police and payment processors are policing our money or are you gonna let the issue fester because you don’t want your family to know you stand with trannies and whores?

Again, the fuck? I’m also pro sex work because sex workers regularly get exploited and I think legalizing and regulation sex work would make their lives safer.

Also do you see how insane you act? I disagree with you on one thing and then you automatically assume I also disagree with you on (probably) all the other things. You’re turning me into a villain in your own mind, and for what purpose? So you could dehumanize me? You’re acting exactly like the conservatives who hate your guts.

@[email protected]
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Sorry, excuse me for making this comment, but I kinda think that the user Goodeye8 was agreeing with you since the start.

Anyways I wish you well.

@[email protected]
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Rape and incest ain’t for me but I take serious offense when they get banned

phrasing

Goodeye8
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You do realize that was not the end of the sentence?

But just for you I added the word games and then moved the structure around.

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Haha, it wasn’t the end of the sentence, but I don’t think the rest of the original sentence meaningfully changed that particular clause!

I Cast Fist
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Nitpick: I’d like to know what part of incest implies violence and abuse.

Btw, does anyone know if Madmind Studios’ games were delisted as well? Agony and Succubus would make the fuckwits of Collective Shout shit themselves

@[email protected]
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Leaving aside how gross it is, and separate from whether corporations should be the arbiters of morality:

Incest between parent and child, even if the offspring is of legal age of consent, would imply an insurmountable power differential as well as likely grooming. Incest between siblings would depend on the age differential and authority structure of the family. It’s not a case of incest=abuse, but of how likely it could imply abuse. The challenge is nuance. The goal is harm reduction

I understand that for some incest porn is enjoyable, not because they would commit incest themselves, but because incest=forbidden=naughty=sexy. Maybe that’s you? In any case, you asked how violence is implied, and that’s my take

@[email protected]
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As they should have. Why should Steam or Itch.Io have to respond to every tiny cult of religious nutjibs making ridiculous requests?

@[email protected]
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They didn’t respond to religious nutjobs, maybe read the article

@[email protected]
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I’m not sure what you are saying here?

Are you saying that Valve and Itch did not respond to Collective Shout? Well, so did I… My comment was saying they were justified in doing so.

Are you saying Collective Shout are not religious nutjobs? That’s an easy mistake to make because their website and branding does a really good job of trying to hide it from a casual researcher, but the founder Melissa Reist is pretty obviously a devout Catholic- she gives interviews with Catholic organizations, appears at Catholic youth camps, and describes herself as a “pro-life feminist”, which is of course an oxymoron. She’s definitely a religious nutjob.

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TERFism, religon

Potato, potato

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