For too long, corporations and governments have been censoring creative works, claiming that these endeavors are to protect children from seeing inappropriate content. YouTube has forced creators to censor their content for children despite the sexual advertisements on their main site and inaction towards inappropriate content posted to their specialized application for children. Game developers and vendors have been fined and had their products forcibly removed from storefronts.

Payment processors have been removing themselves as payment options for vendors of mature content, not to protect children as the rhetoric claims, but to preserve their own image. The reality is that nobody thinks of Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, or other payment processors when purchasing mature content.

These policies unfairly punish creators and vendors whose livelihoods are at risk due to corporate policies, fraudulent reasoning, and angry protestors who don't want to take the time to ensure that their own children are safe. Parents refuse to take responsibility for their own children, and many parents have shirked their responsibility to care for their children in order to pursue pleasure and vanity, often letting tablets be the real parents.

We are not babysitters. We are not responsible for your children.

Millions of dollars and the livelihoods of game developers, artists, and even store owners are at stake. Both corporations and consumers are facing the loss of both product and revenue as influencers lose their accounts, game sales are forcibly cut off, and those involved receive fines of tens of thousands of dollars, all because a few Karens from Australia threw a hissy fit. A member of the United Kingdom Parliament has even admitted that this is not about children, but about censorship. Our freedoms are openly being infringed upon, and all because of the false rhetoric of children being exposed.

That being said, children should be protected from harm. Inappropriate content will always be in the hands of minors as even age verification through state or national identification can be circumvented. The responsibility, therefore, lies on the parents to monitor their children without putting creators at risk of losing their jobs and without risking our right to creative expression.

We must act now as privacy is being ignored in favor of censorship, an entire industry already rife with layoffs will be forced to contend with even fewer job openings, and creators will face bankruptcy and be unable to pay bills including rent should the current policies be allowed to continue. Homelessness is on the table all because parents don't give a damn about actually being there for their children.

We want lawmakers to enact the following policies:

• Payment processors may not tell us what we can buy with our own money. They are simply means to an end. They cannot be allowed to revoke access or de-bank anyone based on the content of their purchases or inventory.
• Media corporations may not tell us to censor ourselves to protect minors. They must require parental permission and supervision for minors to access their platforms, and parents must face penalties for non-compliance. Said corporations must also be free of liability for any third-party content.
• Governments must be forced to follow their own laws. High courts must follow freedom of expression to the letter; that is, all forms of creative expression that do not lead to violence or criminal acts should never be censored.
• We still care about children. Creators of any dangerous material such as rape or abuse specifically against children must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Companies who sanction this material should also be given notice to take down third-party content containing said material or face prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.
• Parents must be parents. Any child neglect by parents, legal guardians, and others must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
• Privacy is a right, not a privilege. Governments should not require corporations to collect user identification. Corporations should never use identification as a means to sell data to advertisers. Requiring ID could also lead to massive data leaks resulting in identity fraud.
• Adults are not children. Parents and legal guardians should be required to cease monitoring their children when said children reach the age of majority. This is to prevent any indoctrination against adults.

Sign this petition if you are a creator, seller, or consumer of digital media, an ally to us, or simply someone who believes in privacy rights.

We, the undersigned, demand the above actions to be taken and promise to assist policymakers in finding the best way to balance safety, privacy, and censorship to ensure both child safety and freedom of expression.

(Disclaimer: "Mature content" is not limited to content that is sexual in nature. This also includes strong language, graphic violence, and other mature themes.)