OnlyFans drops porn ban decisions

Just days ago, subscription-based social media service OnlyFans announced it would be banning its famous sexually explicit content in order to appease payment providers. However, after much public backlash, the site has announced it will be dropping the ban.

OnlyFans executive blamed ban on ‘unfair actions’ of banks

Despite marketing itself as a platform that connects content creators and fans of all niches, OnlyFans became synonymous with pornography and sexually explicit content after allowing those over the age of 18 to upload images and videos considered too risque for Instagram. Over the pandemic year, the site’s popularity even rose to over 130 million users.

However, just last week, the platform announced that from October 1st, it would be banning sexually explicit content, and all creators would have to adhere to updated terms and conditions.

OnlyFans chief executive Tim Stokely claimed the ban came down to the ‘increasingly unfair actions’ of payment providers who were refusing to process payments linked to pornographic accounts. In an interview withThe Financial Times, Stokely commented:

The change in policy, we had no choice — the short answer is banks.

The platform's exec also said that if the banking environment changed, the site would ‘absolutely’ accept sexually explicit content creators.

Now, it seems that the issue has been resolved, and OnlyFans announced it would be dropping the proposed porn ban:

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.

OnlyFans’ porn ban met with a wave of online criticism

Last week’s policy change announcement was widely criticised by OnlyFans’ explicit content creators, many of whom relied on the service as their primary source of income since the pandemic.

One person took to Twitter to air their concerns: Sexual censorship and suppression don’t keep people safe, and they never have. Forcing sex workers off OF will only mean that they have to find other, riskier ways of paying their bills. I really hope @OnlyFans reconsiders this.

The proposed porn ban also called into question how OnlyFans would make money in the future; given that explicit content drove the site’s success, removing the content would have isolated much of its user base.

Another content creator commented on Twitter: ‘I'm absolutely devastated by the news concerning OnlyFans. Anyone that's been following me lately knows that I just narrowly dodged eviction thanks to that platform and my fans there. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do now.’

After OnlyFans’ announcement, many competitors such as JustForFans, Fansly and PocketStars have been raking in subscribers. Now, the question remains whether OnlyFans can regain lost users who no longer trust the platform.