Visa vs. “Lolita” and EroticBPM

February 2, 2005
JONNOBOT

A word of warning to anyone reading this who runs a commercial website and enjoys 20th century literary masterpieces: if Vladimir Nabakov's "Lolita" is among your favorite books, don't let CCBill or Visa know about it. We hear from our friends at EroticBPM that they're in violation of their payment processor's "company policy" due to a model's mention of the title in her profile: "Even though the book, movie, and over 1000 other items bearing the word 'Lolita' can be purchased with your Visa card on Amazon.com, I was told that no exception could be made given the content of the novel. I guess Amazon just sells more porn than me and Visa can bend the rules for them." The battle between proponents of free expression and overzealous anti-smut crusaders gets stranger every day. (Meanwhile, it's interesting to see how the book is still causing controversy fifty years after its publication.) "Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita, Lolita. Repeat till the page is full, printer."

See also: Merricat (amended member profile @ EroticBPM; see Merricat's photo gallery here)
Order: Vladimir Nabakov's "Lolita" (Amazon)

Previously: Nintendo vs. SuicideGirls

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Here's the correspondence between EroticBPM and CCBill today:

From: review@ccbill.com
To: EroticBPM
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Subject: RE: Regarding Account xxxx: Important CCBill Notice - AccountDeclined

This correspondence is in reference to CCBill's AUP and is directed to the webmaster and/or owner of the following website(s) associated with CCBill Account #xxxx.

At this time, we are unable to complete the set up of your new CCBill account due to violations in CCBill's AUP. In order to remain compliant with CCBill's AUP and to ensure the subsequent set up of your new CCBill account, any and all non-compliant content or material must be removed immediately.

Listed below are examples of violations on your account that require your immediate attention. Please note, there may be other noncompliant material on the site that is not specifically listed in the examples below. It is your responsibility to remove all non-compliant material on your website, not just those listed in the examples.

Violating Terms: Body Tags - (BWIB)
Violating terms any where in the body of your page.

AUP Violations:
http://www.eroticbpm.com/members/fem/merricat/
Bad Words in Body (Underage ): lolita

AUP Definitions:
Underage (Provocative and/or Non-Provocative)
Any and all depictions and/or actual occurrences and/or references to Underage (Provocative and/or Non-Provocative); including Hentai or animations.

If you have any further questions regarding this email, please refer to the CCBill AUP or contact our client support department. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

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From: EroticBPM
To: clientsupport@ccbill.com
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Subject: RE: Regarding Account xxxx

Can an exception be made given the context of this word?
The model is listing her favorite books.

If you are not familiar with literature, Lolita is a classic novel that was written in 1955 and was made into a movie by the great American filmmaker Stanly Kubrick in 1962, and then a second version made by Adrian Lyne in 1997:

Favorite books: the little prince, the god of small things, we have always lived in the castle, reservation blues, lolita, contact, the women's room, the great Gatsby

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From: review@ccbill.com
To: EroticBPM
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Subject: RE: Regarding Account xxxx

Dear Webmaster,

Unfortunately an exception cannot be made.
The violation is a Visa regulation, and is due to the nature of the book/movie involving underage.

Carl H.
CCBill Policy Review

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