Starting in October, creators on OnlyFans are barred from posting pornographic images and videos on the website, according to Bloomberg.
The UK-based company behind the popular subscription service, which is a hub for sexually explicit content and has been a key revenue source for sex workers, announced they are changing their rules amid growing pressure from banking partners — and they’re also looking to raise funds from outside investors.
“In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of our platform, and continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans, we must evolve our content guidelines,” OnlyFans told Bloomberg.
OnlyFans will still allow users to post nude content “as long as it is consistent with our Acceptable Use Policy” — though it remains unclear what will be deemed acceptable in the future. With the changes looming on October 1, sex work advocates are warning that the policy will lead adult performers to lose out on new clients, gigs, among other economic opportunities.
The site’s competitor, JustFor.Fans, ripped OnlyFans for suddenly changing its policy. JustFor.Fans noted that the new policy would hit sex workers especially hard.
“The adult industry is sadly used to companies cutting their teeth on the adult market and then abandoning them once they reach critical mass,” JustFor.Fans tweeted. “JustFor.Fans was founded and built by and for sex workers, and its staff is 100% comprised of sex workers and people who have been in the porn industry for many, many years. We are a porn site. That will never change, and we have no interest in ‘mainstreaming.'”
The move by OnlyFans comes less than three years after Tumblr opted to ban all “adult content” at a time when Congress advanced FOSTA-SESTA, a law that was played up as an anti-trafficking initiative but wound up scaring off many websites after they were told they could be held accountable for anything that happens on their sites.
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