The porn ban is set to come into effect in October, following pressure from payment processors
OnlyFans has announced that it is set to ban sexually-explicit content on its site, with the new rules coming into effect on October 1. The massive change in policy for the online platform – which built a vast portion of its userbase around pornography and other explicit material – follows pressure from payment processors that have raised concerns about the content it hosts.
According to OnlyFans, some posts containing nudity will be allowed to remain on the platform, but “any content containing sexually-explicit conduct” will be affected by the ban, marking a shift toward more mainstream (and less NSFW) content. The line between nudity and adult content is currently fairly unclear, with OnlyFans stating that nude content has to be “consistent with our Acceptable Use Policy”.
“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 platform adds, telling Variety that the changes are being made “to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout providers”.
Other platforms hosting adult content have similarly faced difficulties stemming from their relationship with payment processors. Following a New York Times exposé on non-consensual and exploitative videos, companies including Mastercard, Visa, and Discover cut ties with Pornhub late last year, leading it to ban uploads from non-verified users and purge millions of existing clips. In 2019, the streaming site also lost support from PayPal.
However, sex workers – AKA the people whose work has provided a foundation for these companies to grow – have often criticised such crackdowns for the way they’re carried out, disrupting legitimate streams of income and jeopardising their careers.
For example, one of the main sources for the NYT exposé came from Laila Mickelwait, the former ‘Director of Abolition’ of a Christian organisation called Exodus Cry. On its website, Exodus Cry refers to the sex industry as the “sexual exploitation industry”, and suggests that everyone who works in it is being exploited, including those who are “seduced by the deceptive ‘empowerment’ narrative in our culture”.
LA-based sex worker Mary Moody told Dazed back in December: “At its root, (the New York Times article) is a religious anti-porn group’s propaganda. It’s dishonest and misleading because it’s not about sex trafficking, it’s about enforcing their narrow views of morality. It uses salacious anecdotes to tickle the puritanical subconscious of the nation with the ultimate goal of censoring porn.”
The coming changes to OnlyFans also follow growing scrutiny over the presence of illegal and exploitative content, including allegedly underage material, which have discouraged financial investors. OnlyFans maintains that it “remains committed to the highest levels of safety and content moderation of any social platform”.
The platform has also recently taken steps to promote more mainstream content via schemes such as its 2021 “creative fund”, while the launch of celebrity accounts – such as those of Cardi B and Bella Thorne – have been met with mixed responses. It remains to be seen how successful it will be with the introduction of its full, Tumblr-style porn ban.
“We will be sharing more details in the coming days,” the company says, “and we will actively support and guide our creators through this change in content guidelines.”