LOS ANGELES — A recent controversy involving popular crowdfunding platform Patreon exposed a previously unnoticed, year-old change to the site's terms of service that acknowledges Patreon may “also look at what you do with your membership off our platform” when deciding whether to ban users and campaigns.
The controversial policy was reported yesterday by tech news site Daily Dot, in a piece by Ana Valens entitled, “Why is Patreon policing off-site NSFW content?”
Patreon’s own support blog contains a Q&A by its policy team delineating the company's ban on “pornographic content.”
“Nudity and the human body has been part of art since the very beginning of our history,” the platform’s policy team states. “It is so intertwined that we would never even think to ask whether or not the ‘David’ would be allowed on Patreon.”
Nudity, they add, “is allowed on Patreon as long as it is flagged accordingly.”
“You should make sure that both nudity and implied nudity such as the gimmicky censorship of breasts and genitals, sheer/see-through clothing, and overly sexual poses are always marked as adult,” the statement continues.
However, the company has a zero-tolerance policy for what it considers “pornography.”
“While we allow nudity and for creators to push the boundaries of art,” the policy team explains, “we also have guidelines against funding pornography on Patreon. In our community guidelines, we define pornographic material as real people engaging in sexual acts such as masturbation or sexual intercourse on camera.”
“If you ever have doubts about whether one of your posts is starting to cross the line towards content we would consider pornographic, please contact us,” the post adds.
Yesterday’s Daily Dot article revealed another layer of intrusive surveillance in Patreon’s decision-making process.
“According to Patreon’s terms of service, the site now monitors creators’ work off-site for ‘abusive content,’” wrote Valens. “Patreon quietly implemented the rule around April 2019, according to one artist’s tweet, although enforcement has increased over the past year, particularly against anime artists.”
In March, Valens reported, “Patreon’s Trust & Safety team forced one adult anime artist to provide a Google Drive copy of their portfolio to inspect their work.”
“If you are a creator raising funds on Patreon, we may be held accountable for what you do with those funds,” the site’s terms of service page states. “As a result, we also look at what you do with your membership off our platform.”
To read “Why is Patreon policing off-site NSFW content?” visit the Daily Dot.