The Censorship Storm and How to Fight Back

Yes, it's 2025. Yes, we just saw a lot of censorship measures come at almost the same time.

But let's break it down.

Depending on where you live, you probably have noticed weird laws, measures and "accidents" happening. For some reason, all of these incidents are tied with censorship in the internet. When I decided to write this extra blog post there were 3 main incidents, now there are 5 in total. I'll explore all these incidents and what can we do to resist censorship.

1. The censored subtitles in "The Summer Hikaru Died"

   "The Summer Hikaru Died" is a new anime based on a manga that a lot of people were excited for. This horror queer show connected with a lot of people because of its characters, art, and themes; especially Mokumokuren's (the author) idea to tie up horror elements with the horror and isolation of being a queer kid in a closed minded village.

   
   

   The issue came when people who watch the show with Spanish subtitles realized the subtitles were changed from what they saw in the trailer.

   The story has multiple scenes where 'Hikaru' (one of the main characters who is a boy) confesses his love for his friend Yoshiki (who is also a boy, and has had a crush on Hikaru for years.) In these scenes, 'Hikaru' says he likes Yoshiki, and because of the context the audience understands he means it in a romantic way. Because this is a queer story.

   
   

   

   The picture shows a comparison of the subtitles in the trailer and the anime. The subtitles in the trailer clearly say "I like you" while the anime ones say "I vibe with you"

   How do you think people reacted when they say that in the Spanish subtitles 'Hikaru' said the equivalent to "I vibe with you" in Spanish

   People didn't know whether to laugh or cry when they saw the change in the first episode. Some people thought Netflix Latam would fix it just like Netflix Brasil did after a few people complained, others took it lightly and thought the next time a confession scene happens, it would be fixed.

   When episode 3 came out, Spanish speaking fans were angry. The scene was changed to "I can't stop myself from vibing with you" instead of "I can't stop myself from liking you." Not only it doesn't make sense within the context of the scene, but it also clearly ignored the queer themes the show presents.

   
   

   The fans wanted justice, so they demanded an answer from Netflix on Twitter, but they also wanted answers from the translator, Maria Rodil.

   I don't want to promote hate on this blog, but the way she handled the situation was terrible. When people asked what happened, she defended her translation saying it was "her interpretation" and that she "wouldn't copy her fellow translators." After that she deleted her Twitter account and people found her LinkedIn account, which she deleted as well.

   

   Maria Rodil defends her translation work: "I understand there are differences with the manga version, but this is an animated adaptation, not a copy of the original. Each format has its own rhythm, tone and expression necessities. The manga translation was an interpretation and this is mine. It's not about copying the work of a fellow translator, but offering a personal reading that works within the audio visual medium. Not everything has to be translated word by word to keep the spirit of the scene"

   
   

   As of August 1st, Netflix Latam hasn't given any answers nor changed the subtitles in the platform.

   
   

   So what can fans do? Fans from all over the world are welcome to express their disappointment on social media like Twitter. Fans are trying to get the attention from the account @NetflixLAT. People can also send an email to Netflix at captioninginquiries@netflix.com and mention the quality of the Spanish subtitles is not worth the price they're paying. If your country has an institution that defends the consumer, you can try to open a complaint with them as well! Some Mexican fans are trying to get PROFECO's attention.

   
   

2. UK's Online Safety Act:

   As you probably know, the UK is going through the problem that is the Online Safety Act since July of this year. The law requires people to show their ID or credit card to access certain websites and services because they want to make sure they are adults.

   
   

   Now this law has come with all kinds of problems: young-looking adults are not able to access certain apps, it forces people to share very delicate details and be at risk of a data breach, etc. However, I mainly want to talk about how this law is censoring media in the UK. It censors fiction, yes, but not only that.

   Many people have reported that important things like updates on Gaza, Wikipedia articles and LGBTQ+ content just to name a few. The people in the UK tried to fight this law with a petition, but the government replied that "they're just trying to protect the children." The UK government is not only restricting minors from finding important information but it's also blocking important information from adults. They are also looking to ban VPNs in the UK because people are using them to avoid the law.

   
   

   

   
   

   So what can people do? People in the UK are planning to take the issue to the streets and protest. They are also waiting for more signatures so the Parliament can consider it for a debate. People outside the UK can support the companies that sue the UK for privacy concerns, share information with people from the UK and wait for the boycott list of companies and organizations that supported the law.

3. Payment processors and "adult" content:

   This incident has a lot of people divided, but only because they think they're safe when they are not.

   
   

   The Australian Organization "Collective Shout," which claims they protect women and girls although the organization itself aligns with people who are anti abortion and TERFs, demanded the game "No Mercy" to be removed from Steam and itch.io. After removing that game, the organization went further and contacted payment processors to tell them that Steam and itch.io were violating the rules and selling "adult content." Payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and Stripe are now able to decide the games a person buys because of their own rules. By siding with "Collective Shout," they went with a puritan idea of what "adult" content is, censoring a lot of games in the process that are not even NSFW (Not Safe For Work.) Here's a list of what Visa and Mastercard consider "adult content."

   
   

   

   
   

   Because of these rules, a lot of games have been delisted from both platforms. The issue here is bigger than only banning NSWF games, now payment processors are deciding what people are allowed to buy and consume. Even if a game has sexual content a person should be able to decide if they want to get it or not. The new rules are not about banning only porn or weird fetishes off gaming platforms, but to ban everything that doesn't go with the extreme and puritan ideas the "Collective Shout" promote. The organization it's anti abortion, doesn't support trans people and aims to ban porn, why give them control over NSFW and queer content?

   
   

   This video by Talking Vidya (the video is in Spanish but English subtitles work just fine) explains in less than 20 minutes why giving payment processors this amount of power is dangerous for everyone and how it may get worse if we don't do something.

   
   

   It's also worth mentioning this affects indie game developers as well. Steam and itch.io are the biggest platforms to sell games, so if their games include anything that's deemed "adult content" they will not be able to sell or share it.

   
   

   So what can people do? People have gathered to let the payment processors know how they feel about the restrictions and luckily people from all over the world can participate! Under this video there's a list with phone numbers you can use based on where you live. It also includes Visa's email addresses. Remember to be polite but firm, and to let them know you are planning to use cash more than their services. There are many anti censorship cheat sheets you can use as reference.

   If you are an indie game developer stuck in this nightmare, this article may have options for you to sell your game.

   
   

4. YouTube only available for people above 16 in Australia:

   This is one of the new incidents. Australia is planning to ban YouTube for everyone under 16 to avoid children having access to "mature content." The issue here is that people under 16 will be left without one of the most important tools to inform themselves and it will create a chain reaction of what people are allowed to see. Instead of taking care of children in real life, the Australian government wants to control and censor what people under 16 see. You can find the latest information about this incident here. This one is still an early incident, so we need to pay attention to what happens next.

   
   

5. YouTube will "estimate" age of users in the US:

   After seeing the effects of the Online Safety Act in the UK, YouTube got the great idea to do something similar. YouTube will launch an AI that detect the age of the user based on the content they watch, if the AI thinks the user is under 18 they will send the user to YouTube Kids.

   Every update YouTube gave was worse than the last. The website that is unable to delete spam and ads that violate terms and conditions, and has a broken copyright system wants users to scan their IDs or credit cards to verify if they are adults if their AI makes a mistake.

   
   

   

   
   

   This is also a form of censorship: teenagers and young adults will be locked out of important information and media, adults who consume content "for kids" will be locked out of their accounts as well. What will the AI consider as content for kids?

   
   

   So what can people do? If you are in the US, call your representative and let them know how this affects your privacy. However, and this is key, if YouTube asks for you for your ID or credit card, let it go. Don't use the app, let them lose one user. If a hundred, then one thousand, then then thousand users refuse to comply, they will be losing users, and that will send the message that people are not putting up with their new rules.

Of course we have seen multiple attempts at censorship in the last few months (for example you can see the latest news about book bans here. which have been happening for months) but these many attempts to censor content on the internet at almost the same time should alert us. Organizations and companies in power will try to divide people and control what information we get with moves like these, and we cannot let it happen. Calling representatives, protesting, even sharing links; everything has weight in moments like these, so we all have to unite against censorship.