Look at the effect of the Data Protection Act? How much enforcement actually took place vs how much companies spent trying to prepare or alter their systems to account or it.
The EU GDPR killed a bunch of major companies' forums. Not directly, no... but by requiring increased privacy rights and removal rights, many non-US companies killed their forums rather than deal with upgrading to GDPR compliance. Some US ones did, too.
At least here in the United States, the right to freely associate with whom you wish is enshrined in the very first Amendment of our Bill of Rights.
That's a right that is constrainable. Mostly upon convicts and governmental employees. I was forbidden to engage in political speech as condition of employment as an Executive Branch agency employee.
When it comes to commerce, a business can't refuse to serve a customer on the basis of membership in a protected class such as race, skin color, national origin, religion, veteran status, age, gender, etc., etc.
Sadly, 1869 to 1964 says that some groups will find workarounds.
Imagine if you will the following scenario at a gaming convention: I sit down to play a game and the dude across the table from is wearing a jacket festooned with fascist semiotics. We both paid our entry fees, so commerce is most definitely involved, but I call a judge over because I'll be damned if I'm going to play a game with a fascist. Is the venue within their rights to tell this guy to take a hike?
Depends upon the conditions of entry.
If they have a "No offensive clothing" condition, they might toss him... or just have him put it in the car.
If they don't, they might just tell you to find a different table.
At least in the Western US, the 9th circuit has said T-shirts are indeed speech for protections. (Cases involving Anchorage School District and Juneau-Douglas School District.)
I think the thrust of the argument is, this action will unfairly impact LGBTQIA+ game developers and consumers, therefore it's illegal discrimination.
Unfortunately, LGBTQIA protections may not survive much longer in the US. Which is part of the urgency of the reporting.
Itch has apparently updated their creator FAQ with the following guidelines to things that are verboten:
[snip]
So I'm guessing the next step is Mastercard cutting Amazon off?
Amazon is likely where the line gets drawn. It's big enough to launch its own cards. Technically, it already does, in the form of gift cards purchasable at... WalMart, Safeway/Albertsons, WinCo, and probably Target, Marshalls, Fred Meyer, and a few others. Since they don't need to use a payment processor when Amazon Gift Cards are used on Amazon, they only need point of sale vendors to keep carrying their gift cards... So Visa/MC/Discover/AmEx all know that their leverage over Amazon is pretty low, and would just create a new competing card.
Walmart is similar, but not as secure in their position, due to being Brick and Mortar as well as online. But if WM gets cut off from the payment processors, WM can use their gift cards, too, and direct bank transfers to load them. WM also is roughly 50% owned by the Walton family... a lot depends upon the Walton's decisions.
As someone who survived (barely) the Satanic Panic, yeah, it ended. Thankfully.
Sadly, you're quite wrong about that.
Jerry Prevo was still burning gaming books in 2012, and calling for further burnings during the lockdown. You may not know him, but he spent 40 years fearmongering over RPGs, boardgames, fantasy novels, videogames, Movies, Television, and rock music in Anchorage, Alaska... and is now at Moral Majority (which they as an organization are NOT a majority; I don't consider them terribly moral, either.) When I was in high school (mid 80's), bookburnings by Prevo's ABT were common, specifically targeting TSR, Palladium, and Hero Games product. 1-2 times a year. In the nineties, he did fewer...
I've seen one article on a 2017 book burning in the US South[east], and I'll note that Jack Chick's lies are still being sold to various groups for distribution.
It's far less visible than it used to be, but the same general groups are still telling the same lies to scare those too scared to actually find out. And that's before looking at the new ultra-right that has risen since the 80's-90's major flare of the Satanic Panic.
