Nexus Mods is updating its practices "in regards to Adult content, child safety online and our ongoing commitment to remove illegal content," a statement from the site announced today.
Before you start worrying that the site's recent change in ownership is behind this and some tsunami of censorship is about to hit the mainland, calm down. This change was prompted by new UK laws, Nexus Mods says, and even the original owner agrees it had to happen regardless of who's in charge.
In a pinned comment on the announcement post, Nexus Mods founder DarkOne says: "For the people who think this is the fault of the new owners of Nexus Mods, please either read the news post above properly or read up on the laws around child safety online that are coming to every major western country either this month, or in the coming year (including most states in the US)."
DarkOne adds that even if the site hadn't changed owners, someone "would have had to have dealt with it this year no matter what. Frankly, I'm relieved that it is not me who has to deal with this or be responsible for the content on the site directly because I have some big misgivings about how it is being enforced. However, if it was me, I would still have followed the letter of the law, and I'd have been doing what is written above. Because I'd have to.
"So yes, you can be worried or angry with the direction the internet is taking and the amount of control governments are enforcing on it around the world, but the law is the law, and Nexus Mods will, and must, follow the law."
With that out of the way, let's dig into that news post.
"These updates are part of our legal obligation to comply with the UK government’s new Online Safety Act and the EU’s Digital Services Act, along with the guidance being issued by Ofcom (the UK’s regulator)," Nexus Mods says.
"While we’re required to make these changes under new UK and EU laws, they also give us the opportunity to improve how content is managed on the site. These updates aim to give users more control, protect vulnerable audiences, and ensure Nexus Mods remains a platform that can support all types of content responsibly."
Nexus Mods can either remove all adult content for EU and UK servers, adjust its policies, or as DarkOne put it, be "fined out of existence" for not complying with the new laws. Understandably, the site is going with option two.
To that end, while "some of this is still being worked out behind the scenes," the rules on adult and "illegal" content are being amended. Again, Nexus Mods heads off concerns: "Adult content is a core part of what makes Nexus Mods what it is; we don’t consider removing it a viable option."
Offering a "general overview of what you can expect," Nexus Mods lays out a few key changes. Firstly, the terms of service will more clearly define "what counts as illegal content under UK law and how we protect children from harm whilst on the site."
Obviously, "this kind of content was already not allowed," so Nexus Mods is just "tightening the language" and also adding "automated detection for Child Sexual Abuse Material," with such content removed immediately and the uploader "banned and reported to the National Crime Agency."
Legal but adult content is also getting more detailed language in the form of new tags. Articles containing adult content will have the same checks as the mods themselves.
"These tags can be added by our moderators and staff and will be locked in place once added," Nexus Mods says. "Of course, this does not change the ability mod authors have to tag their mods and users' ability to vote on tags."
The new adult tags are:
- Pornographic
- Extreme Violence
- Harmful substances
- Suicide
- Self-harm
- Depression
- Body stigma
- Eating disorders
- Swearing or Profanity
- Sexualised
Just as Nexus Mods currently only displays adult content if you have an account with such mods enabled, you'll be able to filter out mods with these specific tags.
User controls are also getting a pass. The "Ignore" feature will stick around to let you filter out content and activity from specific folks, and modders can still block specific users "if they have negatively interacted" with their content to disable comments and interactions.
"Our automated spam detection system will be expanded to more areas of the site, including comments, which will be manually reviewed by staff/moderators," Nexus Mods adds.
Here's one last treat from the UK and EU: age verification. If you live anywhere else, "you will not be subject to age verification" beyond the current verification that you're "above 18 years of age," barring any legal requirement in your country. For UK and EU mod enjoyers, things are changing.
"In the future, we will be introducing age verification for the majority of adult content hosted on the site," Nexus Mods says. "The specifics of this are being carefully considered as we want to get this right so that the option to view adult content remains available to adults, whilst fulfilling our legal obligation to ensure children are safe on our website."
Some of these changes are already here and will be detailed in more depth soon, while others "will roll out gradually over the coming weeks and months."
"We want to be clear that these changes are not optional for us," the statement concludes. "They are part of complying with legislation, and we are committed to keeping our platform safe for everyone."
