Most active commenters
  • tptacek(5)
  • cperciva(3)

←back to thread

Valve confirms credit card companies pressured it to delist certain adult games

(www.pcgamer.com)
728 points freedomben | 16 comments | 18 Jul 25 15:54 UTC | HN request time: 0.87s | source | bottom
Show context
maxbond ◴[19 Jul 25 00:26 UTC] No.44611358[source]▶
Why do payment processors do stuff like this? Is there some regulation that requires them to? I get that they don't want to process fraudulent transactions, but I'd think the response to a higher percentage of fraud from some industry would be to charge them more. It doesn't make sense to me why they would be concerned about the content of games, as long as everything is legal and the parties concerned aren't subject to sanctions.

Some of these games seem completely abhorrent, and probably illegal in more restrictive jurisdictions, but not the United States. And I've not seen any suggestion they're funding terrorism or something. So I'm perplexed.

replies(28): >>44611411 #>>44611419 #>>44611451 #>>44611517 #>>44611528 #>>44611604 #>>44611625 #>>44611674 #>>44611713 #>>44611790 #>>44611866 #>>44612085 #>>44612637 #>>44612830 #>>44613322 #>>44613401 #>>44613483 #>>44613691 #>>44613744 #>>44614120 #>>44614860 #>>44615550 #>>44615769 #>>44616205 #>>44616269 #>>44616805 #>>44616821 #>>44616872 #
1. markdown ◴[19 Jul 25 00:52 UTC] No.44611528[source]▶
It's not just games.

Payment processors ban many things that are completely legal, even foods and dietary supplements. It's ridiculous. They have too much power.

replies(2): >>44611644 #>>44613324 #
2. tptacek ◴[19 Jul 25 01:15 UTC] No.44611644[source]▶
I have no trouble seeing why a payment processor would want to avoid doing business with dietary supplement companies.
replies(2): >>44611685 #>>44611929 #
3. maxbond ◴[19 Jul 25 01:23 UTC] No.44611685[source]▶
I mean I wouldn't do business with them, I think the supplements industry is infrastructure for grifters, quacks, and pyramid schemes to fleece the desperate, but what's the problem for Visa? Is it a brand safety thing? My presumption would be that payment processors are amoral and have no problem processing payments for Consolidated Baby Kickers if it were legal to do so, is that a misconception?
replies(1): >>44611752 #
4. cperciva ◴[19 Jul 25 01:36 UTC] No.44611752{3}[source]▶
"Not as advertised" chargebacks. That industry is also full of subscription scams (e.g. someone thinks they're ordering a supplement for $5.99, but they're actually getting signed up for $39.99/month...).
replies(2): >>44611781 #>>44613333 #
5. tptacek ◴[19 Jul 25 01:42 UTC] No.44611781{4}[source]▶
Also the products don't work!
replies(1): >>44611843 #
6. cperciva ◴[19 Jul 25 01:53 UTC] No.44611843{5}[source]▶
I don't think the credit card networks would care about that if it weren't for the risk of chargebacks. Credit card networks have no problem with processing payments for churches!
replies(1): >>44611861 #
7. tptacek ◴[19 Jul 25 01:55 UTC] No.44611861{6}[source]▶
Right, no, I'm just saying: that drives a lot of chargebacks.
8. kjkjadksj ◴[19 Jul 25 02:08 UTC] No.44611929[source]▶
No issues buying Marlboro reds with the credit card of course.
replies(2): >>44611958 #>>44611974 #
9. akerl_ ◴[19 Jul 25 02:15 UTC] No.44611958{3}[source]▶
Cigarette purchasers aren’t filing chargebacks when their partner checks the billing history, claiming their card got stolen.
replies(1): >>44612031 #
10. tptacek ◴[19 Jul 25 02:17 UTC] No.44611974{3}[source]▶
Have you ever returned a pack of cigarettes? They basically do what you expect them to do.
replies(1): >>44612891 #
11. FireBeyond ◴[19 Jul 25 02:28 UTC] No.44612031{4}[source]▶
Are dietary supplement purchasers doing so?
replies(1): >>44612063 #
12. tptacek ◴[19 Jul 25 02:34 UTC] No.44612063{5}[source]▶
Extremely, infamously, yes.
13. kjkjadksj ◴[19 Jul 25 05:46 UTC] No.44612891{4}[source]▶
I figured the reason was not wanting to support something harmful to the customer like a fake diet pill. Call me naive for letting that assumption of even a glimmer of empathy affect my guestimation. I should have known it was pure greed all the way down and due to something like this instead.
14. herbst ◴[19 Jul 25 07:26 UTC] No.44613324[source]▶
There are or have been rules about which colours a dildo can have.

It definitely sounds like Christian morals being forced on us.

15. SXX ◴[19 Jul 25 07:27 UTC] No.44613333{4}[source]▶
> That industry is also full of subscription scams

Visa / MC are the ones who enable subscription scams and benefit from them. They implemented "convinience" option of "updating" your credit card data with replacement card. So even if you cancel and replace card charges continue to pass.

They also totally able to see all the places where your card been tokenised, but they dont push banks to expose this to you.

replies(1): >>44613358 #
16. cperciva ◴[19 Jul 25 07:32 UTC] No.44613358{5}[source]▶
In Canada at least, you can opt out of having your new card number shared when you replace a card.