Mr. Speaker, Carmen Tam, a constituent of the riding of Waterloo, created Petition e-6695. Today I rise to present it on behalf of 14,921 petitioners.
Petitioners need the House and all Canadians to know that in 2025, online video game storefronts like Steam and Itch.io removed numerous games featuring adult sexual content because Mastercard, Visa and other payment platforms changed their policies to regulate adult entertainment. Petitioners share with the House that this sets an unsettling precedent of financial censorship. Petitioners are saying to let creators create and to let consumers choose. Payment processors should not be cultural gatekeepers.
The petition demands the protection of consumer choice and creative expression against financial censorship. Petitioners agree that laws and regulations, all rules, including our Standing Orders, should be followed, but payment platforms should not determine what a creator can create or a consumer can purchase.