Online retailer Etsy will prohibit sales of most sex toys, content that depicts sex acts and genitalia, and more starting July 29.
The indie seller published its Adult Nudity and Sexual Content policy yesterday, which states that sales of adult toys that are insertable, “applied to the genitalia,” or “designed for genitals to be inserted into them” will be prohibited. That pretty much runs the gamut — dildos, vibrators, rings, plugs, and the like will be banned.
I think it’s most likely pressure from payment processors.
Payment processors shouldn’t be acting as a moral authority.
Yet again, failure to enforce antitrust law is a big part of the problem.
The government has ceded the entirety of modern currency exchange to private companies, which is still crazy to me, but I honestly don’t see people even question it that often. As if it’s just a given that online purchases (the increasing majority of all economic activity) is subject purely to a ToS and not the laws and protections granted to us by the government.
What? Of course they’re still subject to laws. There’s so many laws and precedent based around banking that it requires specialized lawyers.
They shouldn’t be, but they have a long history of doing exactly that.
And yet, here we are.