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Don't Try to Crowdfund Porn on Patreon

The crowdfunding site recently updated its community guidelines, making its rules around porn a lot stricter.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Bad news, adult stars: Patreon is cracking down on porn.

The crowdfunding site, which is meant for recurring funding rather than a one-time campaign, recently updated its community guidelines, making its rules around porn a lot stricter.

"You can't use Patreon to raise funds in order to produce pornographic material such as maintaining a website, funding the production of movies, or providing a private webcam session," the updated policy reads. Users are also prohibited from selling "pornographic material or arranging sexual services" as a reward for their patrons.

The policy also notes that Patreon has "zero tolerance when it comes to the glorification of sexual violence which includes bestiality, rape, and child exploitation (i.e., sexualized depiction of minors)." That includes "illustrated, animated, or any other type of content." Also on the list of no-no's: "fringe sexual fetish content, such as incest, necrophilia, or fetish content that is hard to distinguish from non-consensual sex."

In a blog post, Patreon's head of legal Colin Sullivan said the site's stronger stance on porn means "a small number of creators" will need to update their pages and flag them as Adult Content. Pages flagged as Adult Content are removed from Patreon search.

"We know creators have fears about demonetization and we are sensitive to this," Sullivan wrote. "We stand behind the fact that Patreon is creator-first in everything we do."

As Engadget reports, however, the new policy "threatens to shut down many … performers who rely upon the site for revenue." Many adult content creators currently offer webcam sessions, or access to private Snapchat accounts as incentives to backers, it says.

Adult content creators who are concerned or need clarification about the new policy can contact Patreon at guidelines@patreon.com.

Meanwhile, Patreon has promised to give content creators who violate its policies a second chance "whenever possible." In these cases, a member of the site's Trust and Safety team will offer one-on-one guidance about the changes a user needs to make to get their page reinstated.

"Aside from blatant violations of Community Guidelines (such as hosting terrorist content, doxing, or very clear hate speech), removing a Patreon page completely is a last resort after we've offered a chance to update the content," Sullivan wrote.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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