OnlyFans says it has suspended a plan to ban sexually explicit content following an outcry from its creators and advocates for sex workers.
The subscription site said in a prepared statement Wednesday that the planned ban was “no longer required due to banking partners’ assurances that OnlyFans can support all genres of creators” and declined to answer further questions.
OnlyFans had said last Thursday that it would ban explicit content starting Oct. 1, blaming policies of banks and payment processors for the policy change. “The new rules are necessary to comply with the requirements of these financial institutions and are the only way to help ensure the long-term sustainability of OnlyFans,” the company said in a message to users last week.
Last week’s abrupt change upset the site’s creators, many of whom threatened to move to another website. A lot of sex workers joined OnlyFans during the pandemic when in-person venues shut down or became more dangerous because of COVID-19. The site has been tremendously lucrative for some people, allowing them to earn thousands every month. OnlyFans says it has 130 million users and 2 million creators who have collectively earned $5 billion.
Lacy Lennon, who says she makes tens of thousands of dollars a month from OnlyFans charging $100 a minute for custom videos, remains skeptical on the ban reversal. “What’s scary is what’s the safety on this? How do we know it won’t happen again?”
There are other sites where people can pay for porn, and a crop of new ones started trying to lure upset OnlyFans creators. Rapper Tyga was promoting his plans for a new platform called myystar in media interviews after OnlyFans announced their ban, saying, “We’re not putting a limit to any content that you do.”
“We’ve been in the adult industry for 20 years and we’re tired of seeing sex workers get bullied and exploited by the platforms that make the money off them,” said Mattie McCoy, whose Nevada company is also developing a site that could offer an alternative to OnlyFans for sex workers, called Naughty Popcorn.
The online porn industry is changing amid concerns about sex trafficking and the exploitation of minors. Two 2018 laws, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, were meant to stop sex trafficking online, and led some spaces to shut down. But many sex workers say these changes have also made their jobs more dangerous.
OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely blamed banks such as Bank of New York Mellon for the planned ban in an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday, saying they refuse the site’s business.
Source: AP
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