For too long, many Sims 4 custom content creators have been hiding behind out of context quotes and messages from former Sims 4 team members at EA and Maxis to justify criminal actions, such as releasing personally identifiable information (names, payment information, etc.) over UGC they have no rights to paywall. These incidents have happened for years and EA/Maxis fails to clarify their stance on paywalling, perpetuating a cycle of e-violence against their players.

EA’s EULA gives players the right to redistribute User Generated Content that can be accessed via their games (including Sims 4), yet EA says nothing about UGC/cc creators putting trackers as tools for doxing and cyber harrassment into custom content packages for Sims 4. The cycle of e-violence would have no grounds to stand on if EA/Maxis would stop seeing players as only dollar signs and clarify to the creators in the community that said creators do not own the rights to UGC that has coding/is compatible with the Sims 4 game.

There are way too many examples of this e-violence to list them all here, but many of them have been shared over time and I have compiled some examples on my tumblr @Mack3030. Personally, I have been doxed and my work email (at a school) was attacked with spam and porn sign-ups by creators who did not like that I redistributed their permanently paywalled Sims 4 UGC for free. I have blocked many creators over the years for cyber harassing me as well. I am not an exception or an outlier; this happens to way too many players in the community to be swept under the rug or ignored by EA/Maxis any longer.
 
To EA/Maxis, you have the time to release a paragraph-long statement explaining how the EULA relates to permanently paywalling UGC and the resulting doxing and harassment that follows players redistributing UGC that these creators have no legal rights to be committing crimes over. Use specific wording that cannot be manipulated, protect your players, and get yourself some easy positive publicity. If you refuse after seeing this petition, you are proving to the community that you are no more deserving of our money or brand loyalty than the criminals you would be enabling with your silence.