Popular doujinshi and independent manga DLsite , recently announced the suspension of the use of American Express on its platform. This measure adds to restrictions previously announced for MasterCard and VISA earlier this month. The decision to suspend these payment options was apparently made due to the refusal of these financial companies to associate with the +18 content distributed on DLsite.
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It is important to note that the website DLsite had attempted to alleviate this situation by changing the terms of certain popular doujinshi hentai genres, such as “l0lis” and others, in an attempt to appease pressure from financial companies. However, these measures did not achieve the desired result, leading the platform to lose these services.
Additionally, a week ago, DLsite notified its creators that it would replace or hide certain expressions used on the platform in response to requests from credit card companies. DLsite decided to comply with the request, as more than half of transactions on its platform were made by credit card. The decision only reached creators registered on the site, but soon attracted attention on social media due to the sarcastic nature of the “censorship” implemented.
This new restriction prevents overseas fans who wish to purchase content on DLsite from using bank cards issued outside of Japan, posing a significant obstacle for them.
This latest development highlights the tactics used by multinational companies to try to control the doujinshi industry and adult content in general. The doujinshi community has debated the pressure that these financial entities place on adult content platforms, as this directly affects the availability and accessibility of content for consumers.
The situation at DLsite highlights the complexity of the relationship between creative freedom and censorship, as well as the challenges faced by adult content platforms. The suspension of American Express cards highlights the importance of this issue in the doujinshi industry and its implications for creators and consumers of this content.
DLsite is not the only platform having problems hosting 18+ manga content; similar cases occurred with DMM, Fanza, Niconico and Skeb.
Finally, the Skeb commission service introduced payment via its own cryptocurrency, Skeb Coin, in June 2022.
Source: Official Website
