Posted in: Comics | Tagged: kickstarter, sean leow

Kickstarter Reverse Ferrets, Apologises Over Mature Content Guidelines

Kickstarter performs a full reverse ferret, apologises over its new Mature Content Guidelines and goes back to the previous rules

Two weeks ago, Bleeding Cool reported on major changes at Kickstarter, regarding the types of stories and content they stated that comic book ceatore creators could openly promote on the site, as a result of demands of their payment processor, Stripe, and published a "Mature Content Creator Guide. Stating that "romance and spicy literature, including comics/erotic comics" were still allowed on the platform, but only if all project page imagery complies with new standards, warning against projects "where the primary value offered is access to explicit content" and that censorship bars, blur effects or pixelation will not make otherwise prohibited imagery acceptable.  Basically, it seems, anything that some might consider a little bit rude, even if it's censored on the page, couldn't appear in a campaign pitch. Then they started cancelling campaigns directly… and directly blaming Stripe.

Today, Sean Leow, COO of Kickstarter, posted an apology and a full reverse ferret. He said, "Our goal with these updates was to give creators more clarity upfront so they could make informed decisions about their projects before launch. The actual impact was the opposite for some. More confusion, more uncertainty, and real fear that a platform that you have counted on to provide space for your creative expression was turning its back on you. You deserve better. So, we're going back to the drawing board, and yes, that means we're going back to our previous rules."

As for what happened and why, Kickstarter states, "The updates to the rules were primarily driven by requirements from our payments processor, Stripe. Stripe operates under its own legal and compliance requirements separate from Kickstarter's own rules. And even Stripe's rules are dictated by a larger system shaped by financial institutions that govern how money moves globally. Under this system, many platforms – including other crowdfunding and creator monetization platforms – struggle with how to create space for mature content while getting the creators of that work paid without friction. And that's what we were running up against. Over the past several months, we've seen a growing number of campaigns that had already been approved by Kickstarter get suspended by Stripe mid-funding. When that happens, it's devastating. A creator's project can be frozen with funds in limbo, sometimes weeks into a campaign they've spent months, or even years, building. Whenever that happened, we advocated for those creators directly with Stripe, and in some cases, we were able to get mid-campaign enforcement reversed so creators could finish their campaigns. We fought those battles because we believe in the work and because creators deserve to see their campaigns through. We recognized, though, that enforcement against Kickstarter-approved campaigns would continue, and that meant there could be more cases where our advocacy for creators wouldn't result in the reversal of a suspension. Faced with the realization that creators would continue getting caught in the gap between our rules and Stripe's, we thought that the best path forward was to close the gap, giving creators one set of rules to work within, versus having to navigate two different policy philosophies. That was the intent, but the decision we made was an abandonment of the core counterculture, f*ck the establishment spirit of Kickstarter, and it left our community vulnerable."

As for what they will be doing going forward, they state, "It means that at any point, whether that's before launch, while a campaign is live, or after it ends, while a creator is still collecting pledges made via Pledge Over Time or Late Pledges, Stripe can still suspend a campaign that Kickstarter has approved. That's the reality of operating within a payment system we don't fully control. When that happens, we will advocate for you as we have been, and we'll do our best to help you understand what adjustments you need to make to your project to make it supportable by Stripe, but we can't guarantee the outcome. To help creators understand what Stripe allows, we're adding a note about their policies and a link to their guidelines to our rules page, so you have full visibility into the broader landscape of rules you're operating in before you launch. We've also put together this guide to help creators understand common review triggers and make informed decisions about how they present mature content publicly on Kickstarter to reduce the risk of disruption. Though this route is an imperfect temporary solution, it allows us to stand in what we believe in and use the space between our rules and Stripe's rules to keep fighting for creators. That means continuing to push Stripe for flexibility, clarity, and consistency, working to carve out exceptions where we can, and finding solutions that don't leave creators feeling censored before they've even launched."

Sean concludes, saying, "We could have done this better. We're going to keep working to earn back your trust, and we'll keep creating the space that bold, boundary-pushing creative work deserves." Whether or not that means talking to someone other than Stripe, that may be an issue for another day.

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