End Of Patreon (Rejoin On Ko-Fi) (Patreon)

Hello everyone.

As I have moaned about elsewhere, Patreon is now unrolling new requirements for adult content creators, as they are being pressured to by Mastercard. This data is being collected by an intermediary company called Jumio. The new terms require all adult content creators to submit a government ID with their legal names and faces, as well as facial recognition data. For the moment, it is opt-in, but in time, it will be mandatory, and it will be impossible for adult content creators to continue using the platform otherwise.

I do not intend to comply with this new policy. There are several reasons for this: for one, only creators are required to submit this info. Patrons can simply click a box saying they are of legal age, even if they aren’t, and see the content anyway, so if the goal is to prevent underage users from seeing it, this won’t work. I strongly suspect, however, that the actual purpose is to collect a database on pornographers, monetize their info, invade their privacy, monitor them, or keep them forever at risk of credit denials. If it were just a photo ID, I might not have those fears, but facial recognition data has infamously been collected by police agencies to surveil and persecute marginalized populations. In other words, the new policy subjects you to the same scrutiny as if you were already a suspect of a crime, as if pornography were merely one notch away from human trafficking or kidnapping. This requirement makes it more strict to make porn on Patreon than to buy a handgun in some states. There’s also the small detail that Jumio, the third-party data manager, is owned by a private equity firm, so they are only one bankruptcy and buyout from this data ending up in the hands of god-knows-who. So when Patreon says they will “never publicly share or sell your personal information,” there are so many caveats that I can’t even humor the idea.

To be honest, after having to close my LLC at the end of last year, this doesn’t shock me all that much. Patreon has been planning this for some months, actually, and is unlikely to roll back the decision, as Mastercard is too valuable a partner for them, and their actions over the years have proven that growth and investments are more important to them than their userbase. I frankly do not see the appeal or security of staying here. Even if Patreon were to suddenly reverse course, I already have reduced this page to a tip jar. As much as I need and value your support, I can’t continue using this platform under these conditions. I think I'm done.

From now on, I will make money by tips on Ko-Fi and taking commissions on Commiss.io, if you still want to support me. You can still get Discord access by tipping on Ko-Fi, and if you are currently pledged to the Patreon, you have been upgraded to the legacy role, as of this morning. Ko-Fi does not allow NSFW content either, but you can still see my adult work by joining the Discord, or by finding me on other sites.

And thus, I will shortly end my time on this platform. Posting here will end on March 1, 2023. The account will be closed sometime after that. As I’ve said befoere, thank you all for your seven years of support and kindness. I’ll keep moving forward, and I hope you will too.