Civitai Faces Backlash Over Content Censorship

The “Wild West” of the AI sector, Civitai, has encountered negative feedback following the implementation of strict content measures.

“We are updating our rules to align with the growing scrutiny of AI material. They prohibit certain categories of content, including incest, self-mutilation, diapers, and a range of bodily excretions. All uploaded NSFW files now require metadata to remain visible. The new moderation system aims to improve content labeling and safety,” stated Civitai.

Civitai is an online platform and marketplace specializing in generative artificial intelligence, focusing on the creation and sharing of images. It gained widespread attention and criticism, including for enabling the creation of illustrations without the consent of depicted individuals, potentially leading to unethical or illegal materials.

Although the platform was not positioned as a pornographic site, it was used by several NSFW communities such as furries, fans of adult-oriented anime, extreme BDSM, and others.

The rules prohibit content that was popular among certain user segments. They also reduced the monetization opportunities for works featuring real people, especially celebrities.

Discontent spread across social networks Reddit and X. Users complained about the sudden disappearance of their materials without clear explanations.

“Has anyone else lost motivation to participate in Civitai and share models? These recent moderation changes and ridiculous filter changes make me feel it’s all pointless, as they can just remove random content on a whim. How soon will they ban all NSFW? Copyrighted characters? Political satire?” commented user Titan__Uranus.

The company introduced stricter rules regarding its internal currency, Buzz, intended for paying for various image generation and model training features. This made it more difficult for content creators to earn income.

The restrictions are likely driven by pressure from third-party payment partners like Visa and Mastercard, which take a hard stance on adult content.

“The issue is 100% caused by Visa, and any company accepting their cards will eventually add these restrictions. Currently, there is no way around it, although I am personally working very hard on sustainable long-term alternatives,” noted Nomi AI platform CEO Alex Cardinell.

Back in February, the decentralized and privacy-focused search engine Presearch launched the PreGPT 2.0 chatbot.