Financial censorship: Difference between revisions
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'''Financial censorship''' is the practice of major [[payment processors]] refusing to process transactions for entities that do not align with their values. | '''Financial censorship''' is the practice of major [[payment processors]] refusing to process transactions for individuals or entities that do not align with their values. Although some banks and processors must comply with the law by avoiding known criminal activity, some institutions take a heavy-handed approach in this regard, leading to the censorship of legal adult content,<ref>{{Cite web |last=EFF |title=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/02/legal-censorship-paypal-makes-habit-deciding-what-users-can-read |url=https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/02/legal-censorship-paypal-makes-habit-deciding-what-users-can-read}}</ref> medical marijuana advocacy,<ref>{{Cite web |last=CNBC |date=2018 |title= |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/22/wells-fargo-closes-bank-account-of-candidate-who-supports-marijuana.html}}</ref> and other incidents. Companies like PayPal have a long history of censorship; although, when major payment processors such as Visa and Mastercard censor individuals or business entities, they effectively ban those people from engaging in payment transactions at all. This is due to their dominant position in global finance with no widely-adopted alternative. | ||
== Why it is a problem == | |||
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==Notable incidents== | ==Notable incidents== | ||
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===Itch.io=== | ===Itch.io=== | ||
In July 2025, [[Itch.io]], a platform for many indie games, delisted "all adult {{Wplink|Not safe for work|NSFW}} content" from their storefront. Later that month, they restored all NSFW games, as long as they're free. Currently, they are in negotiations with payment processors to start restoring some paid titles, but they have acknowledged that this will see some titles permanently removed from the platform. | In July 2025, [[Itch.io]], a platform for many indie games, delisted "all adult {{Wplink|Not safe for work|NSFW}} content" from their storefront. Later that month, they restored all NSFW games, as long as they're free. Currently, they are in negotiations with payment processors to start restoring some paid titles, but they have acknowledged that this will see some titles permanently removed from the platform. | ||
===Wikileaks, 2011=== | ===Wikileaks, 2011=== | ||
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From Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America, PayPal, and Western Union.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reuters |first= |date=2011 |title=WikiLeaks says "blockade" threatens its existence |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-wikileaks-idUSTRE79N46K20111024/}}</ref> | From Visa, Mastercard, Bank of America, PayPal, and Western Union.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reuters |first= |date=2011 |title=WikiLeaks says "blockade" threatens its existence |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-wikileaks-idUSTRE79N46K20111024/}}</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||