Earlier in August popular adult content site, OnlyFans caused public outrage when it announced a new ban on “sexually explicit content.” This ban was to be in effect starting October 1st. However, on August 25, OnlyFans announced the ban was being suspended. As soon as the announcement about the ban was made, rumors surfaced that the reason behind it was a plan for the company to go public. However, more information followed, which contradicted those rumors.
Why Ban Adult Content?
Banks. The simple answer is the banks don’t want to process any payments linked to adult content. This is a result of an investigation that uncovered images of assault and child abuse on pornography adult site PornHub. After the discovery was made, banks began refusing to process payments on adult content. This was sparked by financial industry giants Visa and Mastercard announcing the prohibited use of their cards on Pornhub and similar sites.
OnlyFans founder and chief executive singled out JP Morgan Chase, Metro Bank, and BNY Mellon for initially blocking payments. Because banks were blocking payments sex workers who had content up on any site that operated with these banks couldn’t get paid for their work. This is what led the popular app to consider banning adult content from its users outright in the first place, according to an official statement.
PornHub Removes All Unverified Partner Posts
Since the disturbing imagery was found on PornHub, the site has taken down all content from unverified partners and has implemented a verification process that will include age verification.
How Content Creators Feel
Despite suspension of the ban, content creators on OnlyFans feel betrayed by the platform, with many refusing to return to the site. The suspension comes after OnlyFans received “assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community.” A number of content creators on OnlyFans decided to take advantage of the buzz around the announcement and pursue other similar platforms where they could share such content and interact with their audiences, while also sharing advice with each other about the best alternatives.
The platform’s name managed to become a shorthand for amateur adult content in large part because of its loose content policy, as well as because of the interface and excellent user experience. Practically everyone can share photos or videos on the app, charge for views, and if they have a big enough audience, make a living solely off of a single platform.
The Oct 1st ban was originally seen by many as a preemptive response on the part of OnlyFans to the announcement from Mastercard that there would be new restrictions and tighter control on adult content purchases. Mastercard’s planned restrictions would have taken effect on October 15th. While the current ban on adult content on the platform has been put on hold, it remains to be seen what OnlyFans will decide to do in the future, as the company finds itself in a difficult cultural and financial position.