OnlyFans Abandons Its Plan To Ban Pornographic Content
UK-based subscription service OnlyFans is among Britain’s most successful tech start-ups. It launched in 2016 and exploded in popularity in 2020 when the pandemic hit. It now has over 150 million registered users. Furthermore, it is home to 1.5 million content creators, who it reportedly pays $5 billion annually.
On OnlyFans, these content creators can post photos and videos and chat with their subscribers. The twist is, their fans should pay a subscription fee to get access to their content. Through a system like that, OnlyFans enables its creators to make a living out of their content. Its tagline says, “Make your influence pay!”
Why Is OnlyFans Popular Amongst Sex Workers
Perhaps what brought OnlyFans to where it is now is its loose content policy. That separates OnlyFans from other content creation platforms like YouTube and Instagram. Unlike those platforms, OnlyFans does not shy away from sexual content. Thus, it became the go-to place for sex workers.
Starring in porn does not pay well anymore. So, most actors and actresses have moved on to become webcam models. But webcam modeling needs them to be streaming to earn money. Thus, they needed a side-hustle – one that would allow them to earn money passively. It makes OnlyFans the ideal place for them. The content they will post on the platform will continuously make money for them, even when they are asleep.
OnlyFans is also useful for people who are testing the waters of adult entertainment. Unlike in porn, where they would have to follow the instructions of a director, they can do what they want on OnlyFans. For instance, they can choose if they want to play with a sex doll or not. Also, they can choose who they want to work with if they want to work with anyone at all.
In case you are wondering, no, OnlyFans did not forget to ban sexual content. It is a design by choice. The platform was actually created so sex workers can use it.
Timothy Stokely’s idea was to create a platform where sex workers can easily sell their content. He noticed that a number of sex workers are selling custom-made porn under the table. The platform they use to promote their product is Instagram. However, Instagram is not a sex work-friendly environment. It does not allow nudity nor pornographic content on its platform. So, the sex workers have to rely on other platforms to deliver the sexual materials bought by their followers.
Stokely saw the potential on a website that is like Instagram but is open to having sexual content. And hence, he made OnlyFans.
OnlyFans’ Announcement That Surprised Everyone
On August 19, 2021, an announcement made by OnlyFans put it back on the headlines. It says it will soon be imposing a ban on sexually explicit content: no more porn, sex dolls, and masturbation. The “cleansing” will start on October 1, the platform says.
This announcement caused panic and confusion among sex workers. Again, Stokely made the platform to help them. So why is he kicking them out now?
While waiting for an answer, the content creators scrambled to find alternatives. They searched for other platforms where they can continue what they have been doing. But even if they did find that, they still felt fear.
OnlyFans has brought sex work to the mainstream – or close to that, at least. It has made people realize that sex work is work. There should be no shame in making a sex worker or in consuming their content. With the platform removing sex workers from the platform, it brings back sex workers underground. That will not affect just the financial status of the sex workers but also their mental health.
As companies grow, the need to make big decisions also becomes greater. They have to secure investments and find business partners. Else, they cannot assure their lasting power.
For OnlyFans, this task is a bit more challenging. What makes it difficult is its reputation as a porn platform.
Banks and payment processors do not like working with companies in the sex industry. That brought OnlyFans to a crisis. Tim Stokely says that out of the blue, Metro Bank had withdrawn support in 2019. Then now, BNY Mellon flagged and rejected all transactions from OnlyFans. There are also issues with JPMorgan Chase. Tim Stokely says that it is being particularly aggressive at closing accounts of sex workers and businesses that support them.
OnlyFans would not survive without connection to banks. So, they had to make a choice. OnlyFans had o weigh which is more important: financial service companies or sex workers. And to sex workers’ disappointment, OnlyFans did not choose them.
OnlyFans’ Flip Turn
OnlyFans’ decision was met with backlash from both sex workers and their fans. Some called the platform a “user.” After sex workers made it successful, it is betraying and abandoning them. These creators have put everything on their content on OnlyFans. Just like that, they are going to lose all they have built.
The amount of negative feedback was so overwhelming that it did not take long before OnlyFans reversed its decision. On August 25, 2021, OnlyFans made an important announcement.
OnlyFans said it had struck a deal that would allow it to resume normal service. However, sex workers on the platform are still skeptical. It did not appease them as much as OnlyFans hoped it would.
The wording on the OnlyFans tweet is a little suspicious or unclear. It says that it had secured necessary assurances to support its “diverse creators.” It did not outright say “sex workers.” Perhaps, there are still complications that may boot adult entertainers out of the platform. Moreover, the announcement says that it has “suspended” the planned policy change. Sex worker Lola Hunt also points this out. She says that OnlyFans did not state that it is not going through with the reversal. “I think they’re going to go through with the ban in a few weeks’ time,” she says.