TheMalcontent
patreon
Our Statement on Patreon
🕑 Added 2022-09-13 21:17:12 +0000 UTCWe were aware of the findings of a May investigation that found a single creator was using Patreon to sell potentially exploitive material of their child to subscribers.
We are also aware of the events of the last six weeks, which include discovering there are more creators doing this, that they appear to be coordinated, and that in response, not only has Patreon done nothing but fired their entire online security and safety team. We are also aware of the claims being made by some of those employees on Glassdoor.
We are looking into alternative channels, but due to annual subscriptions and the potentially devastating impact (it would literally shut us down) of doing refunds at this point - we are likely stuck until April of 2023. We are looking at alternatives but to be clear, we don't even have the bandwidth to support all our channels now, let alone two subscription platforms.
We join other creators in demanding Patreon change its policy to go beyond the account owner must be 18 to include that the content being provided contains only adults, as many other platforms have done. There is no space for fetishizing children that can be deemed as legitimate, and if Patreon's business model needs these types of accounts to survive, there is a bigger issue with the platform (interesting fact, less than 700 creators on Patreon have 2K or more subscribers - the average number is around 50).
We will be ending the option for annual subscriptions on September 15 to help provide an offramp, and we hope that Patreon will take these allegations and situations seriously. As part of our plan, some projects we put on the back burner will be moved up the priority list to assure we can continue to share the truth - with a side order of snark.
It is readily apparent to us that continuing to rely on third-party platforms for growth is becoming less sustainable as we grow larger.
Comments
Glad I’m not the only one who didn’t know! That being said I almost wonder if Patreon is doing something in the background on the dl (maintaining OPSEC) to work with authorities to catch and prosecute the abusers. A guy can dream, right?
This is the first I am hearing of this, and I am way beyond disappointed that Patreon (upon which thousands of people depend for income!) is not treating this issue with the seriousness they should. Will follow wherever you go.
If you switch platforms, I will follow.
Oh Captain My Captain! Whatever platform you move to I will use, thank you for taking this seriously and creating an action plan.
My support will follow wherever you go
When and where...... I'm there
Edible Robotics
I'll happily follow you to another service. I just followed all my mini printing subscriptions over to MyMiniFactory.
WthinWthout
I had no idea that this was happening, but sadly it's no surprise. I will transfer my subscription to where ever y'all decide to make your new home when it is time.
Jason Meyer
I really appreciate you are addressing this Patreon issue. However I too would rather be able to support your organization in a way that is stable than have you move platforms.
Jeffrey Price
You sort it. I, for one, will continue to pay money to support your platform. I have not raised my position because of the “issues” because I did not want provide a cut to Patreon.
I’ll follow to whichever platform you choose 👍🏻
