On March 27th, we covered DLSite’s response to concerns raised by Western payment processors by significantly modifying names and search terms for various genres featured on its platform.
Recent developments now reveal that both Visa and MasterCard were involved, as they’ve been found pressuring foreign websites and stores to prohibit the sale of certain items and unconventional adult content.
This pressure has already affected platforms like Nico Nico, Patreon, Pixiv, and most recently Gumroad, all of which have either banned or imposed restrictions on adult content in various forms.
In the case of Nico Nico, Mastercard specifically requested the removal of a clickbait video titled “decided to abuse a dirty kitty,” which depicted a person giving a baby kitten a rinse in the sink.
DLSite attempted to respond to this pressure by making changes to the tags on their site. For instance, works previously labeled with the tag “slave” were relabeled as “servant,” while “rape” was changed to “Non-Consensual,” and so forth.
The purpose of these changes was to prevent the outright banning of such content while also attempting to pacify the pressures from foreign entities. Regrettably, despite their endeavors, DLSite’s attempt to address the situation proved unsuccessful, leading them to make the decision to “temporarily” block both Visa and Mastercard.
DLSite, one of the largest digital distribution platform for Japanese doujinshi and erotic content, has chosen to emulate DMM by terminating their agreements with both VISA and Mastercard.
In a recent update, DLsite announced the suspension of payments through Visa and MasterCard credit cards, urging users to utilize alternative payment methods such as PayPay, FamiPay, BitCash, JCB, or American Express.
While no official reason was provided, it’s evident that both Visa and MasterCard, known for imposing guidelines on businesses dealing with adult-centric material, did not accept the changes made by DLSite regarding revised tag names and persisted in their request to ban “problematic” content featured on the site. More than likely the name tags will go back to their original definitions in due time.
Regardless, DLSite stands firm in their decision, even if it disappoints some of their users. I’m pleased to see them prioritize their customers’ desires by stocking the material they wish to purchase, rather than prioritizing checkout convenience.
While they label this as a “temporary” measure, it appears unlikely that DLSite will resume working with such oppressive payment processors in the future which is a victory for the lolicons and “animal friends” of Japan.
In fact, I’d go as far as to speculate that PayPal may attempt a similar maneuver at a later date.
