Integrity Risk and Use of the Visa-Owned Marks

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rawWwRrr 19 Jul @ 5:32pm

This is the specific section from Visa's rules that has been leveraged against Valve/Steam which caused the additional restriction to the content types and the subsequent removals of certain titles from the Store.

1.3.3.4 Integrity Risk and Use of the Visa-Owned Marks

A Member must not use the Visa-Owned Marks:

* In any manner that may bring the Visa-Owned Marks or Visa Inc. or its affiliates into disrepute

* In relation to, or for the purchase or trade of, photographs, video imagery, computer-generated
images, cartoons, simulation, or any other media or activities including, but not limited to, any of
the following:

– Child sexual abuse materials
– Incest
– Bestiality
– Rape (or any other non-consensual sexual behavior)
– Non-consensual mutilation of a person or body part

A Member that does not comply with these requirements will be subject to non-compliance
assessments prescribed under the Visa Integrity Risk Program.

Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules[usa.visa.com]
This document shows a publication date of 12 April 2025.

Mastercard's is similar:

5.12.7 Illegal or Brand-damaging Transactions

A Merchant must not submit to its Acquirer, and a Customer must not submit to the
Interchange System, any Transaction that is illegal, or in the sole discretion of the Corporation,
may damage the goodwill of the Corporation or reflect negatively on the Marks.

The Corporation considers any of the following activities to be in violation of this Rule:

1. The sale or offer of sale of a product or service other than in full compliance with law then
applicable to the Acquirer, Issuer, Merchant, Cardholder, Cards, or the Corporation.

2. The sale of a product or service, including an image, which is patently offensive and lacks
serious artistic value (such as, by way of example and not limitation, images of
nonconsensual sexual behavior, sexual exploitation of a minor, nonconsensual mutilation of a
person or body part, and bestiality), or any other material that the Corporation deems
unacceptable to sell in connection with a Mark.

Mastercard Rules[www.mastercard.us]
This one is dated 3 June 2025.

From these two documents it's quite clear that neither payment system wants any association with certain types of content.

I'm not attempting to draw any conclusions or share opinions. There are enough of those already. I'm just sharing the pertinent information as I've seen a lot of discussion about what happened and not enough about what caused it.

Edit: adding missing context and formatting of my comments.

Last edited by rawWwRrr; 19 Jul @ 7:28pm

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Showing 1-15 of 74 comments

Shotgun 19 Jul @ 5:49pm

Okay, well, shouldn't they be forcing Valve to remove all games with violence in them as well? Every game with violence will have "nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part," so why the double standard?

Elucidator 19 Jul @ 5:51pm

Just stop using credit cards and wait for alternative. Also feel free to send complains to these companies about these rules.

The goal is to stop making Valve afraid of these...

Last edited by Elucidator; 19 Jul @ 5:51pm

TheStoryteller01 19 Jul @ 5:54pm

– Non-consensual mutilation of a person or body part

What is the consensual version of this? A beauty OP or anything else a surgeon might do?

tnu 19 Jul @ 6:00pm

Originally posted by Shotgun:
Okay, well, shouldn't they be forcing Valve to remove all games with violence in them as well? Every game with violence will have "nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part," so why the double standard?

Authoritarians and their shills have no standards. They 're all co mplete hypocrites.

TheStoryteller01 19 Jul @ 6:06pm

Originally posted by tnu:
Originally posted by Shotgun:
Okay, well, shouldn't they be forcing Valve to remove all games with violence in them as well? Every game with violence will have "nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part," so why the double standard?
Authoritarians and their shills have no standards. They 're all co mplete hypocrites.

What have Trump and his minions to do with that?

cSg|mc-Hotsauce 19 Jul @ 6:27pm

Originally posted by Shotgun:
Okay, well, shouldn't they be forcing Valve to remove all games with violence in them as well? Every game with violence will have "nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part," so why the double standard?

Violent games are governed by the ratings boards and they deem them ok under higher ratings.

The other extremely egregious stuff is actually not legal.

Last edited by cSg|mc-Hotsauce; 19 Jul @ 6:28pm

Shotgun 19 Jul @ 6:31pm

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:
The other extremely egregious stuff is actually not legal.

Please provide a source for that.

cSg|mc-Hotsauce 19 Jul @ 6:37pm

Everything is outlined in #2 in the OP.

Shotgun 19 Jul @ 6:39pm

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:
Everything is outlined in #2 in the OP.

:nkCool:

What does anything outlines in the terms of service supplied by a corporate entity have to do with legality? "Not legal" means prohibited by law, and not prohibited by a for-profit company.

cSg|mc-Hotsauce 19 Jul @ 6:40pm

Originally posted by Shotgun:
Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:
Everything is outlined in #2 in the OP.

What does anything outlines in the terms of service supplied by a corporate entity have to do with legality? "Not legal" means prohibited by law, and not prohibited by a for-profit company.

Correct. It wasn't legal in the first place.

#10

Shotgun 19 Jul @ 6:41pm

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:
Correct. It wasn't legal in the first place.

:nkCool:

Then cite the applicable law.

#11

C²C^Guyver |NZB| 19 Jul @ 6:48pm

Originally posted by Shotgun:
Okay, well, shouldn't they be forcing Valve to remove all games with violence in them as well? Every game with violence will have "nonconsensual mutilation of a person or body part," so why the double standard?

Did you read the post? Specifically #2 in the quoted text?

Last edited by C²C^Guyver |NZB|; 19 Jul @ 6:48pm

#12

Shotgun 19 Jul @ 6:51pm

Originally posted by Ｋidd𝔦ｅc͕̤̱͋̿͑͠at 🃏 7ｊ:
I would also like more detailed information.

Something tells me that the information is not forthcoming. Just a hunch.

#13

cSg|mc-Hotsauce 19 Jul @ 6:51pm

Every point inder "In relation to" ( - ) in the Visa rules you can look up each law from every country, especially the US.

If I looked them all up, I would need to prepare to look those up while trying not to be added to some government watch list for looking up those specific laws pertaining to the specific illegal content.

Chris Hansen will not be telling me to have a seat so he can have a chat with me.

Last edited by cSg|mc-Hotsauce; 19 Jul @ 6:53pm

#14