OnlyFans u-turns on sexually explicit content ban
OnlyFans has “suspended” a proposed ban on sexually explicit content after facing backlash from creators and users.
In a statement posted on Twitter the company said: “Thank you to everyone for making your voices heard. We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change.
“OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators,” the statement added.
Last Thursday, OnlyFans announced that pornographic content would be banned on its site from October, a rule change with far reaching implications for many thousands of sex workers and models who make a living through the site.
Several sex workers told PA Media that they would be taking their business to other platforms as a result of the crackdown while users stressed that sexually explicit content is integral to the platform, with Twitter users comparing the move to McDonald’s banning hamburgers.
Yesterday, OnlyFans CEO Tim Stokely explained that the rule change came as a result of “unfair” treatment from banks.
In an interview with The Financial Times, Stokely said Metro Bank had closed the OnlyFans corporate account in 2019 and said the Bank of New York Mellon was “making it difficult to pay our creators,” having flagged and rejected all wires linked to the site’s account.
JP Morgan was also name checked with Stokely claiming that the bank “is particularly aggressive in closing accounts of sex workers.”
Despite the difficulties Stokely assured the site’s 2m creators, who collectively earn around $300m per month, that pornography would return if a solution to the company’s banking woes could be found.
Today’s u-turn suggests that the issue may have been resolved sooner than expected. No doubt good news for the site’s user base which swelled to 130m during the pandemic.
Read more: OnlyFans to ban sexually explicit content from October