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Gumroad, an e-commerce company for creators, updated its rules<\/a> to more strictly limit NSFW content, citing restrictions from payment processors like Stripe and PayPal.<\/p>\n For creators who sell adult art, like explicit comic books or lewd cosplay photos, these sudden policy changes can be detrimental, resulting in an unforeseen loss of income.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m concerned on a number of levels for my livelihood and the livelihoods of all types of creators in my sphere: artists, writers, sex workers and content creators of all kinds,\u201d Sleepingirl, a kink educator and writer, told TechCrunch. \u201cThis is obviously far from the first site that is bending to the pressure of payment processors, and it will not be the last, but this is the first time my content (which is primarily academic and educational) seems to be threatened.\u201d<\/p>\n Adult creators are taught to anticipate this kind of deplatforming; it\u2019s happened on Patreon<\/a>, which used to be much more lax about NSFW content, and it almost happened on OnlyFans<\/a>. But that doesn\u2019t make the impact of these policy changes any less debilitating. When creators have to port over their followers to a new platform, or direct fans to a different web shop to buy their products, the friction can result in a loss of income.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been asked to be more rigorous in enforcing our ToS and must comply,\u201d Gumroad founder Sahil Lavingia told TechCrunch. He declined to say which company asked Gumroad to enforce stricter rules. \u201cObviously, it sucks to do this. We don\u2019t take it lightly that many creators rely on Gumroad for their livelihoods and have communicated that to our partners wherever and whenever we could,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been around since 2011, and this isn\u2019t a new fight. It\u2019s ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n This decision won\u2019t be good for Gumroad\u2019s business, either: The platform keeps a 10% cut of every sale, and adult content is popular on the platform. Competitors, such as Just For Fans, are already jumping at the chance<\/a> to onboard these displaced creators.<\/p>\n