AFEE (Association for Freedom of Entertainment Expression) published a statement on July 30 addressing the recent wave of takedowns and deindexing of adult games across digital distribution platforms like Steam and itch.io. In the letter, AFEE expresses support for the platforms and urges them not to succumb to the external pressure of activist groups and payment processors.
Active since 2013, AFEE is an independent non-partisan political organization in Japan engaged in advocating for freedom of expression in entertainment media such as anime, manga and video games. The organization is advised by Taro Yamada, a member of the National Diet who has been actively tackling the issue of censorship of Japanese content by international payment processors since 2019.
In its statement, AFEE comments, “amidst mounting moral pressure from activist groups and payment processors with no legal basis, it is extremely important for Steam and itch.io make efforts to defend content – this is vital for ensuring diversity of culture.” They stress that the removal or delisting of content that’s not in violation of laws is nothing other than “arbitrary censorship.”
By suspending content that’s legally sound, AFEE explains, platforms harm both creators and users. Game creators risk loss of opportunity (decreased revenue) and can suffer reputational damage (become labelled as creators of “inappropriate” content). On the other hand, consumers lose the freedom to access a diverse range of works.
Aside from urging Steam and itch.io to engage in transparent dialogue with users and avoid changing their policies to accommodate mass censorship, AFEE also suggests the use of regional restrictions to accommodate local laws. “To comply with the laws and respect cultures in each country or region, we ask platforms to make use of regional restrictions (e.g., country-specific age gates or tagging settings) so that as many users as possible can access legal content in their respective territories.” This is likely a suggestion aimed at preventing certain works from being delisted worldwide due to legal issues limited to specific regions.
In closing, AFEE states that it respects the efforts Steam and itch.io have dedicated to ensuring freedom of expression and safe access to adult content on their platforms. However, they “strongly urge that platforms resist unjust, non-legally based pressure, and uphold creators’ freedom of expression and consumers’ freedom of choice.”
As mentioned previously, Japan is no stranger to censorship caused by overseas payment processors. Before large international cases like Steam and itch.io, numerous Japanese platforms hosting adult games, comics, and even gay audio dramas have had VISA and Mastercard agreements one-sidedly terminated, resulting in loss of primary payment options and even closures of said platforms. As the issue gains more worldwide traction, AFEE seems to be hoping that major platforms like Steam and itch.io will put up resistance to the groups pushing for mass video game censorship. In the meantime, itch.io has named PayPal and Stripe as the cause of their troubles and is reportedly attempting to reach out to other payment platforms as alternatives.
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