Here’s why OnlyFans is banning ‘sexually-explicit content’

Don’t worry, I’m as confused as you are. OnlyFans has stated that it will be prohibiting creators from “posting material with sexually explicit conduct”—something that the platform is widely known for—on its website. This has resulted in a massive online outrage, as many sex workers have depended on the platform to sell their content.

According to OnlyFans, the company will be banning “sexually-explicit content” starting 1 October 2021. However, content creators will still be allowed to put up “nude photos and videos, provided they’re consistent with OnlyFans’ policy”.

OnlyFans is a social-media service which exploded during the pandemic as something content creators can use to charge their fans for exclusive access to photos, videos and other material. While the platform intended itself more for other content creators like photographers and musicians, anyone who is familiar with OnlyFans would figure that porn immensely contributes to the platform’s growth of more than 130 million users.

The change is because of a “mounting pressure from banking partners and payment providers”, according to OnlyFans. They currently have a net revenue of USD 375 million (RM1.5 billion) but has struggled to find investors to raise their valuation to more than USD 1 billion (RM4.2 billion), as not a lot of them are willing to back a porn platform.

“In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the platform, and to continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans, we must evolve our content guidelines,” said OnlyFans.

OnlyFans has had a lot of comments that either were praise for giving sex workers a safer place to do their jobs, to call-outs saying that it is “anything but empowering”. But creators have been able to earn a lot of money from the platform—as OnlyFans paid out USD 3.2 billion (RM13.5 billion) to creators since its founding.

Removing the ability for creators to post sexually-explicit content on its platform will means that some creators will lose their source of income. The decision also means that OnlyFans is discarding the people who made the platform a household name, and are hoping to get richer through big investors.

OnlyFans has also been under scrutiny after a BBC investigation revealed that the platform was knowingly letting creators slide despite publishing illegal content. Content found included videos of bestiality involving dogs, and the use of spy cams, guns, knives and drugs—to name a few.

It wouldn’t be surprising if OnlyFans’ sudden change in content rules might have something to do with the investigation. The company even put out its first transparency report, which included a claim saying that they “invest heavily in fighting child sexual exploitation online”.

“We will be sharing more details in the coming days and we will actively support and guide our creators through this change in content guidelines,” said OnlyFans.

Last year, Pornhub removed 80% of its content, as Mastercard and Visa suspended processing payments following concerns that the platform “monetises child rape and revenge pornography”. Content creators had already suspected that credit card companies would deny service to smaller platforms like OnlyFans, too.

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