Kickstarter Reverses Controversial NSFW Ban And Blames Stripe

Key Points:

• Kickstarter recently implemented restrictive NSFW content rules, banning categories like implied sex acts, derogatory sexual themes, photo-realistic nudity, and terms such as “MILF/DILF” and “buttocks,” which creators attributed to pressure from payment processor Stripe.
• The platform has now reverted these rules following backlash, acknowledging in a blog post that the changes were primarily driven by Stripe's compliance requirements, which are influenced by broader financial institution regulations.
• Kickstarter COO Sean Leow explained that Stripe's enforcement has led to approved campaigns being suspended mid-funding, causing significant disruption and financial uncertainty for creators.
• While Kickstarter reinstated its previous guidelines prohibiting only pornography and illegal content, Stripe retains the authority to suspend campaigns, a fact now disclosed via a link to Stripe’s prohibited business list on Kickstarter’s rules page.
• Kickstarter emphasized that the initial rule changes aimed to unify the conflicting policies between itself and Stripe to reduce confusion for creators, though Stripe declined to comment on the situation.