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25 August 2021

OnlyFans suspends ban on sexually explicit content following backlash

The subscription based platform announced last Thursday that it would be banning all sexually explicit content from October.

By Alastair James

Words: Alastair James; pictures: OnlyFans creator Matthew Camp, shot by Danny Baldwin for Attitude

Less than a week after announcing a ban on sexually explicit material, OnlyFans, the site made famous by porn, has ‘suspended’ its decision.

The change, which was due to come into effect on 1 October, would have seen millions of creators have to take down their content while being allowed to continue posting nudes.

The announcement last Thursday (19 August) was met with anger from many content creators, who had found a safe and secure place to work. The site has seen tremendous growth during the pandemic and now has around 130 million users on the site.

“OnlyFans can support all genres of creators”

Last Thursday, OnlyFans announced that from October nude content would be allowed as long as it meets the company’s Acceptable Use policy.

On Wednesday (25 August) OnlyFans posted on Twitter: “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 account added in a follow-up tweet that creators would be contacted shortly.

In a statement provided to Attitude, an official spokesperson for OnlyFans said: “The proposed October 1, 2021, changes are no longer required due to banking partners’ assurances that OnlyFans can support all genres of creators.”

Many also doubted the sincerity of the statement and encouraged creators who had already begun moving to other sites not to return or stay with OnlyFans.  Others have called for the company to drop its 20% claim on creators’ income.

Many also highlighted that OnlyFans had only suspended the ban, rather than permanently scrapping it.  

“They’ve permanently damaged their brand”

Matt (@teninchlondon) has been on OnlyFans for two years. He says it’s given him huge flexibility in his life and a steady form of income throughout the pandemic, which he says is more than he could have asked for.

He wasn’t surprised by the reversal: “It was shocking to me that they would even announce a ban in the first place given how their business was built off the back of sex workers, and we are a core part of their audience.

“The ‘suspension’ is a step in the right direction, he says, but “ultimately, our trust in them as a platform is broken. They’ve permanently damaged their brand.”

“OnlyFans threw us under the bus at the first opportunity, and all of the ‘jokes’ online about seeing OnlyFans performers go back to having an ‘actual’ job are disgusting.”

Matt was one of those looking at other platforms and has started moving content to another site, JustForFans, and he’ll now use multiple platforms going forwards, and says he’s not the only one.

“No one has clarity yet on what this actually means – it could be that OnlyFans just moves the deadline for explicit content back by two weeks, rather than a complete reversal on the decision.

“So many people rely on OnlyFans as their primary form of income, and this could have been completely wiped out, basically overnight. I think the announcement today gives some form of reassurance, but only temporary.”

When asked to comment on the criticism following today’s U-turn an official spokesperson for OnlyFans said there was no additional comment to the aforementioned statement.

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