OnlyFans faces a ban on adult material/content after pressure from payment processors. This subscriber-only website (also the powerhouse of pornography) will now focus on more mainstream content.
The company will continue to allow some posts containing nudity but any content suggesting sexually explicit conduct will be banned, focusing on more mainstream content.
The London-headquartered outlet exploded in popularity during the lockdown. It brought in billions of pounds of revenue as more than 130 million users signed up to subscribe to content or pay to chat with creators. Though OnlyFans has always insisted it has a wide range of people creating material for the site, ranging from chefs to yoga instructors, the most popular content on the website is pornography.
Why The Sudden Ban?
OnlyFans bans sexually explicit content after receiving pressure from banks and payment processors who raised concerns about the material it hosts. OnlyFans has chosen to ban the adult material that made its name instead of losing its ability to take payments, which would effectively kill the business altogether.
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: A spokesperson reveals.
Payment processing companies have mighty control over what material pornography sites can host. Last year December, Visa, and Mastercard were reported to briefly ban payments to websites owned by online pornography giant MindGeek. Following the reports, it hosted “revenge porn” and uploaded it without the consent of those involved. The financial businesses only backtracked when MindGeek deleted millions of unverified videos from its sites such as PornHub.
OnlyFans had, over these years, enabled thousands of sex workers to earn substantial incomes in return for handing over 20% of their earnings to the company. Many creators revealed that it gave them financial freedom. Internal figures obtained by Axios suggest about 16K creators earn at least $50,000 (£36,000) annually from the site.
“We will be sharing more details in the coming days, and we will actively support and guide our creators through this change in content guidelines. OnlyFans will commit to the highest levels of safety and content moderation of any social platform. All creators will be verified prior to being able to upload any content to OnlyFans, and all uploaded content will be checked by automated systems and human moderators.”
OnlyFans has recently faced growing political and regulatory scrutiny over its ability to remove illegal and exploitative material, too. A week ago, around a hundred US congressmen and women demanded a department of justice investigation into OnlyFans, relating to the alleged presence of underage material on the site.
All these issues have scared off potential investors in the company, driving it towards:
- Seeking a more mainstream business model similar to other crowdfunding sites such as Patreon
- Removing the sex workers who built its audience over the years
Although the audience for online pornography continues to grow, all the mainstream internet companies are increasingly distancing themselves from adult material. Back in 2018, it was banned by Tumblr. Facebook and Instagram, too favor a ban on explicit content. Twitter is currently one of the very few leading social media platforms that continue to allow pornography.
Up Next: OnlyFans Launches OFTV… Just like?
Last week OnlyFans officially launched OFTV, a free streaming service that will not include any adult material. OFTV will feature original content from more than 100 OnlyFans creators, spanning fitness, cooking, comedy, health, music, and more. OnlyFans, earlier this year, soft-launched the on-demand streaming service, which now features a content library of over 800 videos.
Top personalities with OnlyFans fan pages include Bhad Bhabie, Cardi B, Jordyn Woods, Bella Thorne, Tyga, Amber Rose, Blac Chyna, Rubi Rose, Tana Mongeau, and Trey Songz. According to the company’s first monthly transparency report, OnlyFans has approved 114,065 creator accounts (out of 279,222 applications) last month. It also revealed that it deactivated more than 15 accounts after detecting child pornography on them.
Final Thoughts
Is OnlyFans’ decision only fad?
Will it prove to become some kind of historic revolution? Give the creators enough reasons to stand and shout with a placard?
Is it trying to become the next Instagram?
ONLY TIME WILL TELL.
Nonetheless, the news certainly evoked happiness to all the OnlyFans alternative websites/apps. Check out the best alternatives to OnlyFans.
