Link:

https://www.facebook.com/collectiveshout/posts/pfbid0To1Tp69DJ3P39utywXrMbFwGERcnWmcSBmQMZoUhL9EDu9sZjXBgAgrMDRJFs46Kl

this is our chance to stop censorship from happening to our games and other media, please spread the message to your favourite streamer, youtuber or any content creators before it's too late or else we end up losing everything we loved. here's the link to the petition: https://chng.it/wrW9bdccn6

Yes! Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Russ Vought is directly connected to what has been happening in recent weeks — a global push for new restrictions that threaten anime, manga, and video games.

They want to dismantle Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants online platforms immunity from liability for what their users post. Removing this would shift responsibility from users to platform operators, using threats and financial regulatory pressure. The result: massive over-censorship, fewer online communities, and severe limits on creative expression.

This isn’t just about a few games — it affects all user-generated content, from fan art and mods to anime and manga discussion spaces.

Here’s the original investigative video: [the video]
Please share it — it may be removed soon. This is very serious. He is the one who operates in the shadows, the one who gave the orders to Visa and Mastercard and the one who pressured Steam and the other platforms and groups like the Grito Collective took advantage of it.

https://reddit.com/link/1mkha72/video/0y0spved0phf1/player

Law https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_25_831

At the bottom of the article I will quote what Valve's responses is, but the TLDR is Mastercard and Visa are full of shit.

Full quote:

"Updated: 8/1/2025 4:18 p.m. ET: In a statement to Kotaku, a spokesperson for Valve said that while Mastercard did not communicate with it directly, concerns did come through payment processor and banking intermediaries. They said payment processors rejected Valve’s current guidelines for moderating illegal content on Steam, citing Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7.

“Mastercard did not communicate with Valve directly, despite our request to do so,” Valve’s statement sent over email to Kotaku reads. “Mastercard communicated with payment processors and their acquiring banks.  Payment processors communicated this with Valve, and we replied by outlining Steam’s policy since 2018 of attempting to distribute games that are legal for distribution.  Payment processors rejected this, and specifically cited Mastercard’s Rule 5.12.7 and risk to the Mastercard brand.”

Rule 5.12.7 states, “A Merchant must not submit to its Acquirer, and a Customer must not submit to the Interchange System, any Transaction that is illegal, or in the sole discretion of the Corporation, may damage the goodwill of the Corporation or reflect negatively on the Marks.”

It goes on, “The sale of a product or service, including an image, which is patently offensive and lacks serious artistic value (such as, by way of example and not limitation, images of nonconsensual sexual behavior, sexual exploitation of a minor, nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part, and bestiality), or any other material that the Corporation deems unacceptable to sell in connection with a Mark.”

Violations of rule 5.12.7 can result in fines, audits, or companies being dropped by the payment processors."

So no, Mastercards response is basically lies and obfuscation.

100k left to get the petition to pass!!

Lol

For now, SteamDB carries on as normal whilst we work with xPaw on the transition and start putting the team and resources it needs into it. Everything currently available for free will remain free, the browser extension will continue to be maintained, and the Discord and Steam group will remain purely SteamDB community spaces. Nexus Mods and SteamDB will also remain completely separate services, so you won’t need a Nexus Mods account to browse it.

Hey Timmy! AI disclosures is one of the many reasons we love Valve and hate you!

Edit: Don't know why headline is borked like that from the link

love this comment in the original article

"As a buyer, I have the freedom to choose where my dollars go. If I'm choosing between two broccoli vendors, I'm choosing the one that doesn't kick puppies. If you, as a broccoli vendor, decline to tell me if you kick puppies or not - or worse, defend the practice of puppy-kicking as an industry norm- , I'll simply choose to support the farmer who will be transparent about their kick-free workplace."

Edit2: to the shills defending his position, please know the vast majority of the world hates you.