D&D 5E D&D Beyond Self-Censorship: Pride Month Digital Dice Blocked In Some Countries

[Ruin Explorer]

It's hard to believe that Hasbro legal is a wholly distinct entity from WotC legal, or that WotC content policy wouldn't be informed by its parent company when marketing to a country where that parent company has 20 employees on the ground.

I don't think the latter is at all hard to believe, actually - just look at various EA-owned dev studios rebelling against EA's anti-choice stance. It's not uncommon for one part of a business to have different ideas to another when it comes to ethics - hell, my company has had to advise on that sort of thing before. The former is obviously dependent on jurisdiction, laws, type of incorporation and so on. There are, in fact, jurisdictions where they could be wholly distinct legal entities. In the UK they could be, if they set the business up right, for example. I believe that there are also quite a few US states where the same could be true.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Some times I suspect Hasbro CEOs have got good "links" with the "gift of the prophecy", for example to avoid troubles about the shipping from China.

D&D can become one of the main symbols of the current Western culture, and that should a reason to be proud, but some people with bad intentions could...start something like a new version of "satanic panic". Hasbro worries too much about to sell a image of "kid-friendly" and relatively "ideologically neutral".

Maybe the next year we can see a rainbow dices pact, but without metion about "alternate style of life".

I have read some minutes ago: Saudi-backed Savvy Gaming Group purchases $1 billion stake in Embracer Group. This has made me to remember 2022 is being a very busy year in the entertaiment industry, and Hasbro as a big megacorporation talks with lot of people from different parts of world for possible parternships. If some Saud Arabia investor group was interested into Hasbro and this wanted to show the image of "Asian-friendly" we can guess the will for some "sacrifices" to open certain markets. Sorry, maybe I can't the right words to explain it in the best way.

 

[beancounter]

Corporations exist to maximize shareholder value, period. Everything they do is based on that one thing. Some corps may be skilled at making the public believe otherwise, but at the end of the day, they will take profits over idealism.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Corporations exist to maximize shareholder value, period. Everything they do is based on that one thing. Some corps may be skilled at making the public believe otherwise, but at the end of the day, they will take profits over idealism.

And we should all make sure to let them know we will minimize how much money we'll give them while they behave thusly.

All of them.

 

[Ondath]

Turkey is a country where LBGTQI+ content must be classified as 18+, which is a modification WotC/Hasbro may not want to implement, especially considering the small market for them there. It's also a country where, at least in some areas, including Ankara, public pro-LGBTQI+ demonstrations are illegal.

To clarify a point, though the Ministry of Trade issue one such requirement for e-commerce, it's not a done deal. Many lawyers think the decision itself was not legal, and insist that there is no legal basis for banning or restricting LGBT content in Turkey. Here's an article discussing the legal situation in light of Riot's "colour festival" precaution in Turkish. Google Translate will probably offer a decent translation, but I'll translate the key part myself, where a practising lawyer gives a rundown of the current situation:

"Here's what we should look at: (...) Of course, there are no laws in Turkey making it necessary to refer to rainbows as "colour festival", or that bans video games from using LGBTI+ imagery. As a result, the statements that the company did this to "comply with local laws" or "localise" the content all belie the fact that this was the company's decision. There are no laws that would force the company to take these steps. If there were any compelling norms to this effect, the company would mention them in their statements. Then we could ask: Does the referred law really ban commemorating 17 May [International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia] or Pride Week? Does it ban the use of rainbow flags? Does it force the apolotisation of an expression symbolising LGBTI+ people in the form of 'colour festival'? The company's statement refers to no such law."

"So why might have they done this? They probably acted in light of the homophobic decision taken by the Advertisement Board of the Ministry of Trade (...). The decision was: 'Rainbow-themed goods in e-commerce hurt children's moral development. So websites that sell such goods must place a +18 disclaimer on such goods.' But I'll reiterate, (...) this decision has no legal ground. It was a decision taken with no basis on Turkish Trade Law or Law On Consumer Protection, or any other law. (...) The company probably felt the pressure of this LGBTI+-phobic atmosphere and took this decision even though there is no legal requirement for them to do so. This isn't a problem only for LGBTI+ people in Turkey, it's a matter that concerns LGBTI+ players of this game no matter where they live. Let me say that again, there is no law in Turkey that forces companies to take these decisions."

So while I am not a lawyer, I can say that there are at least some legal experts that argue that there is no legal problem with providing pride-themed products in Turkey.

 

[TheSword]

A little bit of self censorship.

 

[BigZebra]

Did you try contacting D&D Beyond with your thoughts? Maybe it was a mistake Turkey was put in that umbrella? I mean never assign malice to what simply could be stupidity. Maybe worth doing before the some tour?

 

[TheSword]

To clarify a point, though the Ministry of Trade issue one such requirement for e-commerce, it's not a done deal. Many lawyers think the decision itself was not legal, and insist that there is no legal basis for banning or restricting LGBT content in Turkey. Here's an article discussing the legal situation in light of Riot's "colour festival" precaution in Turkish. Google Translate will probably offer a decent translation, but I'll translate the key part myself, where a practising lawyer gives a rundown of the current situation:

"Here's what we should look at: (...) Of course, there are no laws in Turkey making it necessary to refer to rainbows as "colour festival", or that bans video games from using LGBTI+ imagery. As a result, the statements that the company did this to "comply with local laws" or "localise" the content all belie the fact that this was the company's decision. There are no laws that would force the company to take these steps. If there were any compelling norms to this effect, the company would mention them in their statements. Then we could ask: Does the referred law really ban commemorating 17 May [International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia] or Pride Week? Does it ban the use of rainbow flags? Does it force the apolotisation of an expression symbolising LGBTI+ people in the form of 'colour festival'? The company's statement refers to no such law."

"So why might have they done this? They probably acted in light of the homophobic decision taken by the Advertisement Board of the Ministry of Trade (...). The decision was: 'Rainbow-themed goods in e-commerce hurt children's moral development. So websites that sell such goods must place a +18 disclaimer on such goods.' But I'll reiterate, (...) this decision has no legal ground. It was a decision taken with no basis on Turkish Trade Law or Law On Consumer Protection, or any other law. (...) The company probably felt the pressure of this LGBTI+-phobic atmosphere and took this decision even though there is no legal requirement for them to do so. This isn't a problem only for LGBTI+ people in Turkey, it's a matter that concerns LGBTI+ players of this game no matter where they live. Let me say that again, there is no law in Turkey that forces companies to take these decisions."

So while I am not a lawyer, I can say that there are at least some legal experts that argue that there is no legal problem with providing pride-themed products in Turkey.

The statement is a world wide decision, rather than specifically Turkey. It’s possible (if not probably) that the statement relates to the many places where it is illegal and Turkey was included due to the grey areas you described above.

 

[Deset Gled]

I agree with @Ondath that this reeks of typical Western condescension and islamophobia. You can walk down İstiklal Avenue in Istanbul and you’ll see nothing but Western brands and chain restaurants (and cats).

Both you and Ondath have focused on Istanbul in your descriptions. Can you also give us an idea of what the LGBT community might be like (or what they experience) in geographically different places like in Antalya, Sivas, or Van? I picked these cities randomly off a map, so feel free to replace them with other examples.

My goal here is to get a better understanding of the country as a whole. I'm a little concerned about falling into the trap where people think all of the US is New York City.

 

[Burnside]

The statement is a world wide decision, rather than specifically Turkey. It’s possible that the statement relates to the many places where it is illegal and Turkey was included due to thr grey areas you described above.

I'm inclined to give WotC the benefit of the doubt here due to what I consider their above-average track record in this particular area. However, I do think they should respond to any request Ondath makes for them to clarify their position with regard to Turkey specifically. In this case, this individual market may have been unfairly blocked due to laziness/assumptions/prejudice, or it may have been blocked for actual legal issues or legit concerns that we don't know about.