Japanese Platform For Anime Artists (Fantia) CENSORED By Visa And Mastercard For "Incorrect" Content

Last time I covered the news about:

DL Site.
NicoNico (video platform).

Were being censored by Visa and Mastercard for supposed “incorrect” content.

This type of thing has been going on for some months now, at least since February or March 2024.

Platforms in Japan and the entertainment space as far as “adult” content is concerned are being forced to be silenced on the basis of political correctness.

Keywords across entire sites are being removed as a way to make these Japanese companies be “forced” into complying, or have their businesses and livelihoods threatened at the loss of Visa and Mastercard with their service.

Fantia, a platform like Pixiv is now suffering the same

It reads “Visa and Mastercard Suspension” right before going into the details.

Here’s their announcement translated:

“Thank you for always using Fantia.
As of 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, Visa and Mastercard credit card payments have been temporarily suspended.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but if you are using a Visa or MasterCard credit card, please use JCB, American Express, Diners, or another payment service. *Please note that items that have already been paid will not be affected.”

For customers subscribing to paid plans:

“Due to the temporary suspension of the use of Visa and Mastercard, if you have registered a Visa or Mastercard credit card as your payment method, you will not be able to make the next month’s payment, so we ask for your cooperation in registering other payment methods.”

What you can guarantee is happening behind the scenes:

Fantia is being forced to delete vast amounts of data that doesn’t “comply” with Visa and Mastercard “Out of the blue” standards.
Fantia is contemplating whether to go ahead and delete content like Doujinshi style, hentai style, or simply adult or ecchi anime drawings from artists on their platform.
They’ll also be contemplating whether to prevent artists from selling certain items, which would be a major loss and would no doubt cause an uproar.
If they ignore Visa and Mastercard, they’ll have to stick with lesser-known payment services, and their own Japanese services (which can’t serve international customers).
Bank transfers would be another option.
Artists may start speaking out depending on the outcome and how long this lasts.