Against the censorship of adult content by payment processors

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Payment processors as infrastructure vs private businesses

  • Many argue Visa/Mastercard function as essential public infrastructure or natural monopolies and should be regulated like utilities or common carriers: required to process all legal transactions.
  • Others contend they are private firms that should retain freedom of association and the right to refuse service, especially absent “protected class” issues.
  • A recurring sub‑debate: where to draw the line between a small freelancer choosing clients and a global duopoly whose refusal effectively “de-banks” whole industries.

Censorship, jawboning, and activist pressure

  • Commenters distinguish between normal business discretion and effective censorship when near‑monopolies bow to pressure from moral crusader groups.
  • The term “jawboning” is discussed as governments or activists coercing private firms into enforcing norms they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) legislate directly.
  • Some see payment controls as a dangerous “kill switch” that could later target politics, news, or disfavored social groups.

Moral politics and adult content

  • Dispute over whether using financial rails to restrict porn/sex work is “enforcing public morality” or imposing one faction’s ideology on everyone.
  • Some endorse anti‑porn feminist arguments; others stress bodily autonomy and warn that pushing sex work into shadier channels worsens abuse.
  • Several point out that “adult content” definitions are already being stretched to include LGBTQ themes.

Crypto and alternative rails

  • Some present crypto (often Monero/Bitcoin) as the obvious workaround; others emphasize poor UX, volatility, KYC chokepoints, public ledgers, and energy use.
  • Even if on‑chain transfers can’t be blocked, fiat on/off‑ramps and crypto payment processors can be targeted similarly.
  • Country‑specific systems (PIX, Suica, PayPay) and pre‑paid “points” are cited as partial workarounds, but don’t solve the global problem.

Monopoly, regulation, and remedies

  • Proposals split between: (a) breaking up the duopoly via antitrust, (b) regulating them as common carriers, or (c) nationalizing/creating public payment systems funded like other infrastructure.
  • Skeptics worry about regulatory capture and governments using a public rail for their own censorship goals.

Real‑world impact

  • Creators of “borderline” or merely sexual content report lost Stripe/hosting access and prohibitive “high‑risk” processor fees, effectively killing projects.
  • Several stress that the core issue is concentrated financial power, not just the current target (furry art, porn games, etc.).