Mastercard Lays Down New Rules For Streaming Sites That Require Them To Review Content Before Publication

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the war-on-porn-continues dept

Mastercard is in the process of killing off another way for sex workers to make money. Its updated policy on “illegal adult content” takes aim at a bunch of adult content that isn’t actually illegal. What the new policy does is make it impossible for streaming platforms to comply with the new rules. Since they’re not able to prescreen streamed content, they’re just going to start blocking anything that seems like it might lead to Mastercard pulling the plug.

This will hit sites like OnlyFans and MyFreeCams the hardest, as sex worker/advocate Mary Moody points out. But it will also cause collateral damage at streaming sites that aren’t able to comply with Mastercard’s new demands and may start banning accounts and blocking streams if they suspect (without verifying) “adult content” might be offered.

Here’s what Mastercard is requiring from sites hosting content:

• Documented age and identity verification for all people depicted and those uploading the content

• Content review process prior to publication

• Complaint resolution process that addresses illegal or nonconsensual content within seven business days

• Appeals process allowing for any person depicted to request their content be removed

Some of these are steps that platforms should be taking already. But the second bullet point poses significant challenges. This “for the children” effort will harm adults who produce adult content — many who have never produced any content considered “illegal” under the First Amendment. Mastercard cites its partnership with several law enforcement agencies (as well as child porn clearinghouses like NCMEC) but doesn’t say why it feels all adult content should be subject to rules meant to prevent the streaming of illegal content.

In the absence of any meaningful efforts on Mastercard’s part (this puts the onus on everyone else but the credit card company), a statement like this is meaningless:

We’re committed to doing everything in our power to ensure only lawful activity takes place on our network.

But Mastercard isn’t actually doing anything. It’s handing out more requirements for platforms that accept Mastercard payments, but that’s not actually doing something. That’s making a bunch of other people jump through impossible hoops under the threat of defunding. And it will cause damage to plenty of lawful activity.

Mastercard is free to choose who it does business with. But if it just wants to dump cam sites used by sex workers, it could at least come out and say that, rather than hide behind “for the children” platitudes as it makes it impossible for sites like this to host actually legal content. This is just more anti-porn crusading that willfully lumps child porn and revenge porn in with legal content created by adults. Then Mastercard makes it impossible for platforms to comply without cutting off a majority of their user base.

Filed Under: infrastructure, payments, sex work, streaming sites
Companies: mastercard, onlyfans