Mid-year 2026 policy updates: recording and recap

Yesterday, members of Patreon's Policy Team, including VP of Trust & Safety Eric Han, hosted a live conversation as part of our Creator Policy Engagement Program (CPEP) to share proposed updates to Patreon's Community Guidelines and take creator questions.

As part of this update, you can continue the conversation with the Policy Team in our #policy-qa forum in Patreon's Creator Community Discord server. This channel will remain open for additional Q&A until Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (10:00 a.m. Pacific).

Proposed guidelines updates for creator feedback

Since our last CPEP cycle in December, Patreon launched its on-platform network, which has driven a real increase in public posts across the platform. That shift is part of why this round of proposals focuses on Hate Speech, Harassment, and Inauthentic Behavior, to make sure our guidelines keep pace with how creators and fans are actually using Patreon today.

Hate Speech

We're proposing updates to make our policy language more precise around the specific types of hate speech we don't permit. This is not a change in our stance: Patreon has zero tolerance for hate speech, full stop. Proposed changes include adding "color" to our list of protected characteristics, clarifying the types of harmful stereotypes we prohibit (those that vilify or incite fear, discrimination, or violence), addressing hate-based claims of superiority or inferiority, and adding language around the use of symbols or coded terminology to promote hate. These proposals were developed in consultation with outside experts on hate speech, including researchers and NGOs.

Harassment

The proposed updates here focus on clarity and predictability, particularly around bullying, sexual harassment, and threats. We're making clear that Patreon takes threats and expressions of harm seriously regardless of whether they're specific and credible, and that targeting someone's physical safety is never acceptable on our platform. We're also proposing clearer language making it explicit that our community features don't permit bullying or unwanted sexual contact, including behaviors like cyberflashing and other non-consensual sexual exposure, and separating sexual harassment into its own subsection for more detail.

Inauthentic Behavior

We're proposing updates to bring greater precision to this section and better align it with industry best practices, more directly addressing malicious and deceptive behavior like phishing, deceptive redirects, malware distribution, and coordinated scam activity.

None of this is finalized. We want to hear from you before anything goes live, so please share what resonates, what feels off, or anything that would make these clearer, either in the Patreon Creator Community Discord #policy-qa forum channel or by emailing CreatorPolicy@Patreon.com.

Transparency Report 2026

In March, we published Patreon's third annual Transparency Report, covering calendar year 2025. It's a data-driven look at how we enforce our policies, respond to legal requests, and maintain platform integrity, including how we identify potential violations (proactive Trust & Safety review, creator and fan reports, and automated detection) and how enforcement actions break down by guideline area. If you haven't had a chance to read it, we'd encourage you to.

Advocating for creators in public policy conversations

Our policy work doesn't stop at our own guidelines. In March, we attended Internet Works' annual Hill Day in DC, meeting with congressional offices on issues affecting creators and the platforms they build on. That same month, Courtney traveled to Dublin for Middle Tech Europe's annual fly-in to engage EU policymakers on the Digital Services Act and related regulation. In June, Patreon took part in the first-ever Creator Economy Showcase on Capitol Hill, hosted by the Congressional Creators Caucus, where Courtney and three Patreon creators, Sara and Lucinda from Color Class and Miguel from mz4250, spent the day talking directly with members of Congress and their staff.

A look ahead

In the second half of 2026, the Policy Team will turn its attention to Harmful Acts, Violent & Graphic Works, and Illegal & Regulated Goods, including how we handle depictions of suicide and self-harm, violence, and regulated activities. We're engaging outside experts, including the National Alliance for Eating Disorders, Crisis Text Line, and Witness, to help inform that work, and will share previews later this year.

In the meantime, we’re eager to hear your thoughts on the mid-year policy proposals. Thank you for continuing to be part of this process. Your feedback helps us evolve Patreon's policies with transparency and care, keeping the platform safe and inclusive for creators and fans alike.