OnlyFans To Ban Sexually Explicit Content From October 1
In news that has sent certain parts of the internet into a melt down in recent days, it has been reported that OnlyFans is looking to ban sexually explicit content from October 1st.
The UK-based company which has amassed over 130 million users and over 2 million creators, said in a statement that it is making the changes “to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout providers,.”
Effective October 1, 2021, “OnlyFans will prohibit the posting of any content containing sexually explicit conduct, 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” the company said in a statement supplied to Variety.
Banks Not Comfortable With Content
Avalon Hope, who creates and shares content on OnlyFans, and is currently within the top 0.01 percent of earners on the platform said that what they take away from the situation is “that the banks that process all of OnlyFans transactions are not comfortable with the kind of content that isn’t filtered properly and is still there. They are pushing for higher security and verification on accounts to prevent this.”
https://twitter.com/avalon_hope/status/1428512832123904002
“This may include content such as rape fantasies, incest, hypnotic coercion, bestiality, urine, scat, alcohol or drug use.” Hope added that “this could also lead to the removal of hard kinks and fetishes that might include blood, needles and bodily harm.”
‘No Plan To Move Away From Adult Content?’
However, in screen shots supplied to Star Observer, OnlyFans was quick to assure some of its users that they “do not plan to move away from adult content and would have informed [users] upfront first if that would ever happen.”
According to OnlyFans, since being founded in 2016, it has paid out more than $5 billion to creators worldwide, with the company keeping 20% of revenue generated by its 2 million-plus creators.
Adult performer Taliesin Wolf, who has shied away from using OnlyFans due to “the rampant mismanagement of payouts and loss of income to content creators, was quick to point out the hypocrisy of this latest announcement from the company.
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“OnlyFans built its name on the hard work of adult performers, and the second they were big enough, they dumped the adult creators. I would love to say this is shocking to news, but a lot of the industry would expect no less from them,” Wolf told Star Observer.
Concerns Over Child Sex Abuse Material
The announcement to ban sexually explicit content on OnlyFans also comes after increasing calls for an investigation into child exploitation and the distribution of Child Sex Abuse Material through the platform.
As recently as last week, member of the American Congress implored U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the matter.
“We write today to call your attention to potentially illegal activity, including child sexual exploitation, that this website is facilitating. We request the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the content sold on OnlyFans, as well as the policies, or lack thereof, that OnlyFans employs to report instances of CSAM or child exploitation on their platform,” the open letter, signed by 100 members of Congress read.
Aside from issues around child and sex exploitation, the platform has in recent times also courted controversy, after some of its more high-profile users were called out over their content.
Bella Thorne last year banked $2 million by charging $200 for ‘nudes’ to her 50,000 strong subscriber base. However, these ‘nudes’ turned out to be nothing more than the young celebrity posing in sexy lingerie.
Avoiding Tumblr’s Fare
Hoping to prevent the platform from befalling the same ill fate of Tumblr which banned pornographic material from its platform in 2018, the company is already seeking to diversify into more G-rated content. Earlier this week it officially launched OFTV, a free streaming service that will not include any sexually explicit material, and will instead host content which spans fitness, cooking, comedy, health and music.
In the meantime, OnlyFans has told its 2 million strong creators that they intend to share “more details in the coming days, and we will actively support and guide our creators through this change in content guidelines.”
“OnlyFans remains committed to the highest levels of safety and content moderation of any social platform. All creators are verified prior to being able to upload any content to OnlyFans, and all uploaded content is checked by automated systems and human moderators,” the platform added.
they have now reversed the decision.