Keep your subscriptions! OnlyFans backs down on porn ban

Following unexpectedly widespread global mainstream media coverage, OnlyFans has backed down on its ban on explicit porn material on its platform. The announcement was made on Twitter just 2 hours ago with the promise of an official statement to be sent to the site’s more than 2 million content creators including many in Thailand.

The original announcement to remove all explicit material on October 1 was met by a surprising amount of media coverage major news outlets to talk show hosts, as well as a wave of backlash from sex workers who most credit with the massive success of the site. With the loss of jobs and income due to the Covid-19 pandemic, millions turned to OnlyFans as a source of income.

In Thailand, many gogo workers, bar girls, and freelancers forced out of work due to lockdowns turned to the site where fans can subscribe for a monthly fee to see their explicit content.

OnlyFans founder Time Stokely said the sudden ban on porn was because of banks and payment processors who consider porn payment transactions high-risk and investors hesitant to hurt their reputation by being tied to adult content on the site. MasterCard put out a statement later saying that they had no objection to working with OnlyFans and the decision was made without their objection or input.

Deciding to reverse course, OnlyFans posted a message to Twitter saying they stand for inclusion and support all creators.

“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.”

But many sex workers and adult content creators were not impressed. Some had noted that the porn ban was the first time OnlyFans had publicly recognised sex workers who had been the driving force behind the site rocketing to a 615% increase last year, with 76.5 billion baht in transactions, 13.5 billion baht in profits, and nearly 130 million users.

The response to their Twitter post was overwhelmingly angry and bitter at OnlyFans’ willingness to sacrifice adult content creators and calling for moves to new platforms. Rival fan subscription site Fansly reported a server crash when the announcement was made and subsequently increased their support staff tenfold to deal with the reported 4,000 new applications being received each hour.

OnlyFans has been trying for months to draw celebrities and mainstream influencers, but face strong doubt they will be able to move away from porn and remain successful. The poor handling of this announcement and reversal may give them a chance to find out, if adult creators and their fans continue to flock away from the site.

SOURCE: Financial Times