The Secret War To Censor The Internet

MindGeek v Fleites seemingly later got dismissed, and Visa was dismissed as defendant, though it wasn't public and I have no idea if it could be used as a precedent to prevent future lawsuits

https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-tentatively-dismisses-visa-from-pornhub-sex-trafficking-lawsuits/

https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/fleites-vs-mindgeek-motion-to-dismiss-sac.pdf

Stats showing how a handful of payment processor companies own most of the market

https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/ecb_surveys/space/html/ecb.space2024~19d46f0f17.en.html

https://www.frbservices.org/binaries/content/assets/crsocms/news/research/2025-diary-of-consumer-payment-choice.pdf

https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/credit-card-market-share-statistics/

quartr.com/insights/edge/visa-and-mastercard-the-global-payment-duopoly

https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/most-popular-online-payment-methods/

https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/paypal-statistics/

Exodus Cry championing Kristof’s article and trying to tie him to their movement

https://exoduscry.com/articles/pornhub-concedes-to-traffickinghub-movement-removes-download-button/

VISA Japan's press conference and Seetan Kitney quote

https://www.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1642732.html

VISA CEO Al Kelly interviewed about dropping PornHub

https://time.com/6250487/visa-ceo-al-kelly-leadership-brief/

Articles about how vague and harmful SESTA-FOSTA is (Websites didn’t even need to know sex trafficking was happening to be prosecuted for it)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/02/27/house-passes-anti-online-sex-trafficking-bill-allows-targeting-of-websites-like-backpage-com/

https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/4/13/17172762/fosta-sesta-backpage-230-internet-freedom

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/03/how-congress-censored-internet

SESTA-FOSTA being called a "disaster" and a "proven failure"

https://www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2021-06-22-new-gao-report-confirms-fosta-sesta-has-been-a/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/ann-wagner-fosta-onlyfans-csam-doj-letter/

ACLU criticizing SESTA-FOSTA

https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/how-online-censorship-harms-sex-workers-and-lgbtq-communities

VICE criticizing SESTA-FOSTA

https://www.vice.com/en/article/fosta-sesta-sex-work-and-trafficking/

Senator saying SESTA can make it harder to prosecute criminals

https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-issues-warning-about-sesta

SESTA-FOSTA GAO Report

https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-385-highlights.pdf

Ann Wagner’s OnlyFans DOJ letter

https://web.archive.org/web/20210820015229/https://wagner.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-ann-wagner-leads-bipartisan-coalition-calling-for-doj-to

www.vice.com/en/article/ann-wagner-fosta-onlyfans-csam-doj-letter/

OnlyFan’s statement on banks being the reason for policy change

https://archive.is/Aqx8x

OnlyFans complaint whistleblower + anti–trafficking groups pressuring them to cut ties

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-whistleblower-says-mastercard-visa-failed-stop-payments-child-sex-abuse-2025-01-24/

Mastercard policy change

https://newsroom.mastercard.com/news/perspectives/2021/protecting-our-network-protecting-you-preventing-illegal-adult-content-on-our-network/

https://segpay.com/MC_RevisedStandardsForNewSpecialtyMerchantRegistrationRequirementsForAdultContentMerchants.pdf

Mastercard lobbied by NCOSE and Exodus Cry

https://www.newsweek.com/why-visa-mastercard-being-blamed-onlyfans-banning-explicit-content-pornography-1621570

More coverage of OnlyFans being pressured by Visa and Mastercard

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/onlyfans-banning-explicit-content-won-t-end-well-anyone-n1277342

https://www.newsweek.com/why-visa-mastercard-being-blamed-onlyfans-banning-explicit-content-pornography-1621570

NCMEC CSAM numbers for OnlyFans and Facebook

https://www.vice.com/en/article/ann-wagner-fosta-onlyfans-csam-doj-letter/

Facebook's self-published CSAM numbers (20 million is such an inconcievably large amount)

https://transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/child-sexual-exploitation-abuse-nudity/#data

PornHub claiming they were targeted by anti-porn groups

https://www.pornhub.com/blog/the-latest-on-our-commitment-to-trust-and-safety

Article where OnlyFans claims to have been targeted by anti-porn groups

https://www.vice.com/en/article/ann-wagner-fosta-onlyfans-csam-doj-letter/

Mickelwait’s op ed calling to shut PornHub down

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/1107444/time-to-shut-pornhub-down/

Mickelwait's "Shut PornHub down" tweet

https://x.com/lailamickelwait/status/1761847907735490607

NCOSE calling to abolish pornography

https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/the-way-to-fix-the-pornography-industrys-rape-problem-is-to-abolish-pornography/

NCOSE board member calling porn a tool of Satan

https://web.archive.org/web/20231118213515/https://www.covenanteyes.com/2008/01/17/the-perfect-sin/

https://www.vice.com/en/article/petition-shut-down-pornhub-trafficking-hub-earn-it/

VICE article about anti-trafficking groups wanting to end the adult industry

https://www.vice.com/en/article/anti-porn-extremism-pornhub-traffickinghub-exodus-cry-ncose/

NCOSE targeting HuniePop

https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/victory-steam-remove-sexually-explicit-violent-videogames-platform/

https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/popular-pc-gaming-store-hosts-candy-crush-with-porn-style-videogame/

NCOSE going after Steam games

https://www.gamepur.com/news/steam-visual-novels-porn-religious-organization

https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/steam-rape-day-game/

https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/popular-video-game-company-steam-portrays-rape-as-entertainment/

Exodus Cry going after video games

https://exoduscry.com/articles/disney-fortnite-and-pokemon-the-animated-porn-luring-kids-to-porn-sites/

Collective Shout taking responsibility for Steam changes

https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/australian-anti-porn-group-claims-responsibility-for-steams-new-censorship-rules-in-victory-against-porn-sick-brain-rotted-pedo-gamer-fetishists-and-things-only-get-weirder-from-there/

https://archive.is/vEWGH

https://kotaku.com/steam-sex-censorship-hentai-gta-5-collective-shout-1851786636

Collective Shout campaign to ban GTA V

https://www.collectiveshout.org/prostitution_survivors_call_on_target_to_withdraw_gta_v_for_extreme_violence_against_women

Collective Shout campaign to ban Detroit: Become Human

https://x.com/CollectiveShout/status/964663931439480834

https://www.change.org/p/the-hon-christian-porter-mp-stop-video-game-depicting-child-abuse-being-sold-in-australia

Collective Shout campaign to boycott 50 Shades of Gray

https://www.collectiveshout.org/fifty_dollars_not_fifty_shades

Collective Shout campaign to ban Tyler the Creator from Australia

https://www.collectiveshout.org/immigration_minister_deny_visa_tyler_the_creator

Collective Shout campaign to ban Eminem from Australia

https://www.collectiveshout.org/we_don_t_want_eminem_here_anti_violence_groups_combine_to_condemn_tour

Collective Shout campaign to ban Snoop Dogg from Australia

https://www.collectiveshout.org/immigration_minister_revoke_pimp_rapper_snoop_dogg_s_visa

Tyler the Creator campaign being a failure

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-33695892

Collective Shout's campaign wins

https://www.collectiveshout.org/win-no-mercy-rape-game-removed-itch

https://www.collectiveshout.org/wins-and-highlights-2024

https://www.collectiveshout.org/spotify-removes-trafficking-courses

Collective Shout's Steam + Itchio payment processor open letter

https://www.collectiveshout.org/open-letter-to-payment-processors

Itchio's NSFW policy update

https://itch.io/updates/update-on-nsfw-content

Collective Shout on PornHub open letter

https://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/international-coalition-calls-on-major-card-companies-to-cease-work-with-porn-industry/

Collective Shout's OnlyFans articles

https://www.collectiveshout.org/onlyfans_a_case_study_of_exploitation_in_the_digital_age

https://www.collectiveshout.org/i_told_myself_it_was_empowering_onlyfans

Melinda Tankard Reist described as a pro-lifer and religious conservative

https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/whos-afraid-of-melinda-tankard-reist-20120110-1psdx.html

Collective Shout retweeting anti-trans hate speech

https://ghostarchive.org/archive/J15LR

Collective Shout calling people "porn sick brain rotted pedo gamer fetishists"

https://ghostarchive.org/archive/J15LR

VICE article about Collective Shout's campaign against Steam not having proof of childlike characters

https://archive.is/vEWGH

Other VICE article about Collective Shout that was taken down

https://archive.is/x5cGQ

Ana Valens profile on VICE's website

https://www.vice.com/en/contributor/ana-valens-2/

Ana Valens reporting their VICE articles were takedown

https://archive.is/x5cGQ

https://bsky.app/profile/acvalens.net/post/3lufjdqmhxs2v

Ana Valens leaving VICE

https://x.com/acvalensVT/status/1946916010746847681

https://x.com/acvalensvt/status/1946992236853399758

https://x.com/acvalensvt/status/1946995715747553772

Article about VICE articles taken down and others writers quitting

https://aftermath.site/waypoint-quit-steam-vice

Collective Shout's campaign to ban porn on Twitter

https://www.collectiveshout.org/ban-prn-on-x

illusionsoft saying they don’t make games for overseas

https://archive.ph/20130502084343/http://www.intellasia.net/japan-software-firm-shrugs-off-rape-game-protests-98705

Article about RapeLay being sold on Amazon

https://web.archive.org/web/20130111163209/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk:80/news/local-national/amazon-selling-3d-rape-simulator-game-14183546.html

RapeLay banned in Australia by Melinda Tankard Reist

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RapeLay

https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/whos-afraid-of-melinda-tankard-reist-20120110-1psdx.html

Taro Yamada tweet about Steam not paying Japanese NSFW game devs

https://x.com/yamadataro43/status/1884471160492183770

https://automaton-media.com/en/news/japanese-developers-on-steam-cant-receive-revenue-from-adult-games-due-to-japanese-banks-blocking-transfers/

Yamada going to Visa US's headquarters

https://x.com/yamadataro43/status/1941996280676560903

Article about Yamada and their stances on anime

https://nichegamer.com/japanese-otaku-politician-yamada-taro-proposes-law-to-end-hentai-and-pornography-censorship/

Yamada's tweet about UN report about Japanese anime and video games

https://x.com/yamadataro43/status/1851290494669930984

Sanseito's proposed policies, including government regulation of anime

https://sanseito.jp/political_measures_2025/specific_policies/

Sanseito's "Jewish capital" quote

https://www.algemeiner.com/2022/07/11/populist-japanese-politician-who-railed-against-jewish-capital-wins-parliamentary-seat/

https://automaton-media.com/en/news/japanese-political-party-wants-video-games-and-anime-to-be-put-under-state-authority-to-make-sure-theyre-wholesome-and-people-are-angry/

Yamada reporting they were re-elected

https://x.com/yamadataro43/status/1152904410374131712

https://x.com/yamadataro43/status/1946894264270815539

Sanseito's recent election results

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/21/asia/how-did-a-far-right-party-that-began-on-youtube-win-big-in-japans-recent-election

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Japanese_House_of_Councillors_election

Yoko Taro's payment processor tweets

https://automaton-media.com/en/news/nier-creator-speaks-out-against-payment-processors-pressuring-japanese-adult-content-platforms/

https://x.com/yokotaro/status/1853841460531229118

Fumio Kishida's "I'll handle it" tweet

https://x.com/kishida230/status/1942159515711164870

Dart v. Backpage

https://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/rssExec.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2015/D11-30/C:15-3047:J:Posner:aut:T:fnOp:N:1663542:S:0

https://reason.com/2015/12/01/backpagecom-wins-first-amendment-victory/

Operation Choke Point article

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/05/24/operation-choke-point/

Government speech about Operation Choke Point

https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/speech/financial-fraud-enforcement-task-force-executive-director-michael-j-bresnick-exchequer

Engadget article "PayPal, Square, and Big Banking's war on the sex industry"

https://www.engadget.com/2015-12-02-paypal-square-and-big-bankings-war-on-the-sex-industry.html

Free Speech Coalition report showing 63% of adult industry workers have been denied finanical services

https://action.freespeechcoalition.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Financial-Discrimination-and-the-Adult-Industry-Updated-May-2023.pdf

Patreon’s NSFW censorship that caused many to be denied by the platform

https://www.vice.com/en/article/patreon-paypal-adult-content/

https://www.engadget.com/2017-10-23-patreon-moves-to-restrict-adult-content-on-its-crowdfunding-site.html

https://www.engadget.com/2017-10-27-patreon-adult-content-crowdfunding-uncertainty.html

Paper showing porn made more money than Hollywood

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0143968042000293900

Report that the porn industry was worth $97 billion

https://www.deseret.com/2007/3/17/20007997/porn-industry-is-booming-globally/

PayPal’s old policy against NSFW content

https://web.archive.org/web/20131221020602/https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/acceptableuse-full

PayPal’s new policy against NSFW content

https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/what-is-paypal%E2%80%99s-policy-on-transactions-that-involve-sexually-oriented-goods-and-services-help384

https://www.vice.com/en/article/paypal-pulls-out-of-pornhub-payments/

Fair Access to Banking Act

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/401/text

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/987/text

https://www.cramer.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cramer-reintroduces-fair-access-to-banking-act-to-protect-legal-industries-from-debanking

https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/suing-visa-to-shut-down-pornhub/

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/13634607241305579

Articles about financial discrimination in the adult industry

https://archive.is/u05pT

https://archive.is/HyNp3

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/16/sex-discrimination-why-banks-shun-workers-in-adult-entertainment

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/dec/30/internet-porn-says-more-about-ourselves-than-technology

YuzuSoft also stopped accepting credit cards due to hosting NSFW content

https://automaton-media.com/en/news/award-winning-japanese-adult-game-developer-directly-hit-by-credit-card-restrictions-as-visa-payment-gets-suspended-on-their-web-store/

https://x.com/yuzusoft/status/1883802139035586927

Melonbooks was also pressured by credit cards due to hosting NSFW content

https://automaton-media.com/en/nongaming-news/japanese-manga-and-game-store-melonbooks-becomes-the-latest-japanese-platform-to-run-into-trouble-with-international-payment-processors/

https://web.archive.org/web/20241227142543/https://www.melonbooks.co.jp/news/index.php?news_id=914

Porn being responsible for e-commerce and online payment processors in the first place

https://www.businessinsider.com/porn-behind-internet-technologies-2017-5

https://www.businessinsider.com/the-producer-of-middle-men-talks-to-us-about-how-pornographers-invented-e-commerce-2010-8

https://thenextweb.com/news/cybersex-ascii-pinups-celebrity-fakes-how-the-internet-created-a-97-billion-porn-industry

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/technology/18gordo.html?pagewanted=print

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-17-fi-39273-story.html

https://www.wired.com/1997/12/sex-3/

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