'Like Strip Club Pivoting to Focus on Chicken Wings': OnlyFans to Reportedly Ban Porn in October
22:07 GMT 19.08.2021 (Updated: 15:24 GMT 28.05.2023)
© REUTERS / ANDREW KELLY
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OnlyFans, a UK-based content subscription service, has made a name for itself, and reportedly hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, by becoming a "safe haven" for explicit content creators, musicians and influencers, providing the opportunity to make money from subscribers, or "fans," and pay per view, taking a modest 20% as a platform.
OnlyFans announced on Thursday that it will no longer allow pornography on the platform, Bloomberg reported, citing an emailed statement from the company.
This, indeed, can be called an unexpected step, especially for the many explicit content creators with whom the site is largely associated. Over the past couple of years, and primarily during the pandemic, the number of OnlyFans creators almost doubled, according to some estimates, with the total number of users reaching 130 million in 2021, as the company reportedly stated in the message.
The move is purportedly aimed at safeguarding the company's relationships with banks and payment processors. Creators will still be able to submit nude photographs and videos, but not any "sexually explicit conduct," according to the platform. The new policy will take effect on October 1.
"In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of our platform, and to continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans, we must evolve our content guidelines," the statement reads. "Creators will continue to be allowed to post content containing nudity as long as it is consistent with our Acceptable Use Policy."
Full statement from OnlyFans: pic.twitter.com/oiDH8OAUZx
— Dan Primack (@danprimack) August 19, 2021
Considering that many services are trying to limit the distribution of erotic content, such as the Tumblr photo blogging platform, which prohibited adult content in 2018, the company has been praised for making it safer for explicit content creators to work. And not only for them, as more mainstream celebrities have also joined the platform, such as actress Bella Thorne, Cardi B, Bhad Bhabie, leading the company to hit several financial records.
Sexual content, on the other hand, still has a negative connotation, and the platforms allowing it reportedly face reluctance or the inability of investors to invest in a stigmatized business. Nevertheless, last year, the company reportedly generated more than $2 billion in revenue, and it expects to more than double that this year.
OnlyFans is aiming to be a community for musicians, fitness instructors, and chefs rather than sex workers, and is reportedly seeking to attract advertisers as well. OnlyFans released a new app earlier this year that incorporates many of its top authors but is completely devoid of nudity.
Several explicit content creators on social networks and in the mainstream media have expressed concern and worry over the move, but some of them nonetheless admitted that it falls in line with the general trend of social media.
Netizens, for the most part, noted that the platform seems to be cutting off its feeding hand, and many predicted a drop in capitalization for the platform if creators of adult content switch to other sites.
This is like a strip club pivoting to focus on the chicken wings.
— Les Orchard (@lmorchard) August 19, 2021
OF creators in October pic.twitter.com/plQGLPYEQA
— tikleak (@tikleak) August 19, 2021
Only Fans subscribers finding out that they banned porn. #onlyfans pic.twitter.com/h3oVND9q1E
— NUFF (@nuffsaidny) August 19, 2021
Only fans banning sex content is like KFC not selling chicken no more
— kira ~ (@Sadcrib) August 19, 2021
Wtf? Tumblr 2.0? They're literally turning it into instagram but you have to pay?
— Andrew 🇨🇦 (@A_J_McLaren) August 19, 2021
The only reason Onlyfans exists is because of adult content. pic.twitter.com/Rpw5PdIHli
Moreover, several media assumed that the practical risk of hosting illicit content means that platforms must be constantly vigilant for things like child sex abuse material, malicious content like revenge porn and unwanted disclosures, and ordinary internet concerns like piracy, which also poses risks and puts a burden on the company's management.
However, sexually explicit content on the platform served a good cause when, during the horrific bushfires in Australia in January 2020, 20-year-old model Kaylen Ward gathered more than $1 million for charity. OnlyFans back then hooked up with the model for their first charity collaboration. This sparked a trend among certain OnlyFans creators who have been using their accounts to raise funds.
