A new anti-censorship petition to support the free and fair release of games onSteamhas gained significant momentum in just a few days. On July 16, Steam updated its publisher guidelines to allegedly allow its payment process partners to control the content available on the platform.
The petition posted onChange, which currently has almost 11,000 signatures,alleges that MasterCard and Visa are censoring the content available on Steamas hundreds of games whose content was deemed too obscene or disturbing were reportedly removed from the store. The petition argues that the removal of these games is “moral policing,” and it should be up to the consumer to choose what media they wish to consume.
Speaking toEurogamerafter being questioned about the removal of those games, a Steam spokesperson said:“We were recently notified that certain games on Steam may violate the rules and standards set forth by our payment processors and their related card networks and banks.“They continued, stating that the"loss of payment methods would prevent customers from being able to purchase other titles and game content on Steam.”
New Anti-Censorship Petition Hits Over 10,000 Signatures
The Petition Is Gaining New Signatures Every Few Minutes
The petition asserts that the removal of games and the censorship of specific types of content is being carried out inthe interest of not offending the personal values of payment company executives or activist groups. It’s also being argued that the removal of content on Steam is hypocritical, as the card companies allow payments for adult content on other websites. Steam previouslyearlier this year, but this new policy change is upsetting thousands of people.
There areactionable demands from the petitionand its supporters. The petition asks for four specific changes from MasterCard, Visa, and their partners:
As of this writing, MasterCard and Visa have not responded to the Petition, nor has Steam itself. This is justone of several Steam controversies this year, as the gaming platform was previously thought to have had a password hack that could haveexposed over 89 million passwords, which turned out not to be the case, but still put the company in a negative light.
Steam Users Are The Latest To Join The Petition
This Could Affect More Than Just Video Games
How this policy affects specific games that feature adult-oriented topics, like dating, gore, or violence, but are not aimed exclusively at adults,remains to be seen. OrganizationCollective Shout, which is mentioned in the petition and has responded to the wide circulation of the petition, is boasting about the removal of the games from Steam on its website. In a petition update earlier today, harassment threats have allegedly been made to Collective Shout Co-Founder Melinda Tankard Reist regarding this petition.
With a huge increase in support in just a few days, Steam users seem to be quite bothered by the removal of games from the market, and see Steam’s policy changes as a form of censorship and not as a form of protection or meaningful positive change, like a previous update that added a warning for consumerspuchasing an abandoned Early Access game. With the number of supporters rising quickly, hopefully, we will get an additional response fromSteamsoon.
