Stripe admits employee claims of anti-LGBT policy was a mistake

Roughly one month after payment processors such as PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and Stripe began pressuring digital platforms Steam and itch.io into deindexing or removing games perceived as sexually explicit, public discontent has manifested into a concerted call campaign. Individuals are constantly ringing these fiscal intermediaries and demanding explanations and accountability. Coalescing around Bluesky hashtags #savespeech and #rocktheboat, users are sharing call scripts, mailing letters directly to corporate headquarters, and in some cases enticing each other with — appropriately — spicy art.

According to a growing number of users, and as reported by Aftermath and The Verge, the answers given by call center support teams range from unclear to outright wrong. Nathan Grayson spoke with several call campaign participants who claimed Stripe employees told them any and all LGBTQ+ material, explicit or otherwise, was against the company’s policy. A recorded call between Trans News Network’s Mady Castigan and a Stripe support rep explicated these allegations.

“A support team member, seemingly confused by a question about whether or not LGBTQ content is allowed, first suggests that Stripe does not allow LGBTQ content, but then steps away to double check,” Nathan Grayson reported. “When she returns, she clarifies that ‘abusive behavior’ is banned, ‘but there is not, like, a specific target for the LGBT.’”

Rascal reached out to Stripe for clarification on their policies, as well as explanations for the mixed signals coming from their support centers. It provided a statement very similar to that offered to Aftermath: “We apologize, the information given by our support team was totally wrong. Stripe has no prohibitions on the sale of LGBTQ+ content or goods. We're looking into this and making sure future inquiries are answered correctly.”

The possibility that Stripe would deny or block payments for any LGBTQ+ material concerned us because Rascal’s content management system, Ghost, natively integrates Stripe’s services and doesn’t currently offer any first-party alternatives. We’ve openly and proudly written about adult games, sex work, and published explicit imagery (according to payment processors’ definitions) in the bodies of blogs. Stripe declined to address our questions as to whether the company would ever bounce subscription payments to Rascal and other independently owned news outlets on the platform — and if it would consider such actions effective censorship.

There are no plans for Ghost to directly support an alternative payment processor to Stripe.

Stripe did urge us via email to reference not only its Prohibited and Restricted Businesses list but also a blog post explaining the former’s existence. One section on servicing platforms such as Substack or Shopify was especially illuminating: “We require these platforms to have the appropriate governance and tools to comply with Stripe’s terms of service, and we work with them to understand how they meet these obligations. Beyond compliance with our terms of service (including the restrictions described above), we think our platform users should be able to make their own decisions about what businesses or individuals they will support. In our experience, this approach best comports with the law and our obligations, while also meeting the diverse and often intricate needs of businesses and their stakeholders.

I guess Substack directly promoting Nazis is fine, but Stripe draws the line at queer creators selling smut — or just queer art — on itch.io.

Rascal contacted Ghost directly for comment and recourse if Stripe did restrict or deny subscription payments. The platform said its hosts many LGBTQ+ websites that use Stripe, along with websites that, like Rascal, provide LGBTQ+ subject matter in addition to its main offerings. Additionally, Ghost said it wasn't aware of any Stripe policies specifically restricting material from queer creators, nor had heard of websites hosting such material being denied use of Stripe as a payment processor.

Ghost explained that, after reviewing Rascal’s coverage, the platform saw no reason why we might be denied Stripe’s services. There are no plans for Ghost to directly support an alternative payment processor, but Rascal was urged to inform its support team of any restrictions on our Stripe account explicitly related to queer material or reporting on such.

We founded Rascal on the promise of independence, understanding that to do business in the modern world means accepting a little bit of capitalism fouling the soup. We didn’t expect credit card middle-men to potentially threaten our staff’s paychecks because of puritanical hatemongers in Australia. Stripe has continued to apologize for miscommunicating policy to call center staff. Like itch.io and plenty other platforms reliant on internet income, Rascal must accept — but never trust — the sincerity of a corporation.