Kickstarter has just halted its new adult content rules

Last week, we noticed the Kickstarter New content guidelines Which included some very strange new additions, including a ban on “sexual health products that are not designed for insertion or penetration and are not marketed primarily for sexual gratification.” These rules have now been scrapped and the company has restored an earlier version of its guidelines.

The updates to the rules were primarily driven by requirements of our payment processor, Stripe. Stripe operates under its own legal and compliance requirements that are separate from Kickstarter’s own rules. Even Stripe’s rules are dictated by a larger system shaped by financial institutions that govern how money moves globally.

Kickstarter says it has seen an “increasing number of campaigns” approved but then “put on hold by Stripe’s moderate funding.” The company also says it “supports these creators directly through Stripe,” because “we believe in the work and because creators deserve to see their advertising campaigns.”

After the new rules were released a week ago, we immediately asked Kickstarter for comment, followed up for an answer, and didn’t receive a full response until today — when the company pointed us toward its public post. We asked how the company defined the difference between “sexual wellness” and “sexual satisfaction,” and when Kickstarter pushed today to answer our original question after the rules were repealed, here’s what we got, from KS Communications Director Nikki Crea:

Since we’ve gone back to our previous guidance, the specific rule you reference no longer applies. I don’t want to parse the language from the guidelines we’ve already backtracked on. This blog post reflects our current position and is the most accurate representation of where we stand.

“Adult” content has been strictly regulated by payment processors for years, so it’s no surprise that Kickstarter feels forced to comply. In fact, so He is A bar stating that businesses may not sell “sexually explicit materials” designed for the purpose of “sexual gratification.” Kickstarter blog post Refers to those rules As an explanation for its now-repealed rules, it insists that the latest update does not represent its values ​​— including “damn the founding spirit of Kickstarter.” (But perhaps the establishment is still too powerful to say “fuck” without censorship.)

Kickstarter says its community told it “loud and clear” that the new rules were wrong, and that it was “back to the drawing board.” It also says it “continues to push Stripe for flexibility, clarity, and consistency.” We’ll have to wait and see if the platform that has helped fund creators with billions of dollars can stand up to those moving the money. Meanwhile, creators on the platform could still get kicked out by Stripe’s rules, even if Kickstarter sides against them.