OnlyFans to ban adult material after pressure from payment processors

[Sheilbh]

I've never used only fans so could be way off here (mostly basing what I know on an article from a few weeks back about normal people turning to it and making good money), but surely it's a bit different to Facebook et al.
You don't have account creation as a free for all and then anyone can upload anyrhing. You have consumer accounts, who don't upload anything, and provider accounts, who produce and sell the content.
It seems very strange to me that they couldn't demand full ID checks for the providers- really rigorous stuff that puts many off. That done it should be pretty easy to prosecute anyone uploading child porn-or at the least uncover a case of identity theft.

As I said obviously they're not idiots so they would have considered all this and decided against it. But really strange that it came down on this side. I really do wonder what were the big blockers.

Yeah I get that - but isn't the concern about people using accounts to share it?

Although as you say it does sound safer than, say Pornhub, or something where anyone can upload it because it's always someone identifiable who's uploading things?

[Josephus]

On Pornhub all kinds of randos post porn, not just the creators.

Though I think that's changed now.

[Admiral Yi]

A lot of the content on PornHub is videos of webcam performers surreptitiously filmed by their customers, which i think is very underhanded.

[Sheilbh]

So this investigation - published yesterday but clearly underway for a while - feels like the context for this decision:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-58255865

[Josephus]

A lot of the content on PornHub is videos of webcam performers surreptitiously filmed by their customers, which i think is very underhanded.

Is that still the case? I haven't been on it in a while but I thought that after the reports about it back in december or so, PH cleaned up their entire data base and then only allow "verified Users" to post stuff now. I imagine they may not accept third-party webcam girls, unless their ages can be verified.
Again, I'm not really sure.

[Admiral Yi]

Is that still the case? I haven't been on it in a while but I thought that after the reports about it back in december or so, PH cleaned up their entire data base and then only allow "verified Users" to post stuff now. I imagine they may not accept third-party webcam girls, unless their ages can be verified.
Again, I'm not really sure.

I made the assumption based on the facts that a) it can be done by customers, and b) why would the performers give it away for free?, but I don't know for a fact it's customer bootlegs.

[viper37]

I'm always surprised when businesses decide they don't want to make money any more. It's a bit like when Tumblr banned sexual content and "female presenting nipples". I also don't understand why banks care about this - I mean they must have lots of unsavoury business customers. Seems weird to care too much about porn.

If I had the capital, I'd start my own credit card company that catered to pornography users and cyber hookers.

that's not the problem.  Credit cards are widespread: I can use Master Card/Visa/Amex to pay for grocery, beer, restaurant, hotel, train, and porn.  If you have PornPay (tm) card in your wallet that can only be used to pay for porn shopping, it has no real use compared to MasterCard.  And it already exists with various cryptocurrencies.  Which are harder to trace than credit cards registered in your name and can be used for illicit activites as well.

[Sophie Scholl]

It's groups like the National Center on Sexual Exploitation pushing a right wing fundamentalist Christian agenda. They found that "child porn" is their in to destroy anything they disagree with and no one has the courage to call them on their blatant lies, disinformation, and severely mangled "facts" because to do so would then be used to paint their opposition as being "pro-child porn". The National Center on Sexual Exploitation probably doesn't give any more of a damn about ending child porn than qanon members do/did in their weird crusades to discredit actual efforts to work against and dismantle the awful practice. They're too busy wholecloth inventing conspiracies and lies to push their own agenda under the cover of being against child porn.

[Neil]

Is there also a possibility that laws against trafficking are coming into play here as well?  After all, I would imagine that at least a number of women with OnlyFans sites are escorting, and there's a lot things in that industry that would meet the current definition of human trafficking.

[Josephus]

Is there also a possibility that laws against trafficking are coming into play here as well?  After all, I would imagine that at least a number of women with OnlyFans sites are escorting, and there's a lot things in that industry that would meet the current definition of human trafficking.

I'm sure that's part of it. Though why pick on Onlyfans.

A lot of those webcam sites take credit cards (I hear), and I'm convinced a lot of those girls would meet that definiton as well.

[grumbler]

I'm sure that's part of it. Though why pick on Onlyfans.

A lot of those webcam sites take credit cards (I hear), and I'm convinced a lot of those girls would meet that definiton as well.

I'm not sure that it is a matter of "pick on Onlyfans" so much as this was the low-hanging fruit.

[Josquius]

So...the challenge then is how do we make sure there's no pimping going on?
I can think of super intrusive stuff like demanding copies of bank statements, but even that wouldn't be perfect and is a pretty extreme demand.

I also wonder how much of their income comes from really small niche people doing it as a side gig with a few hundred followers vs. the big hitters who packed in their career and are living large off the back of this.

[jimmy olsen]

Obviously, the only way to solve this problem is to have a Department of Sex, and make all sex-workers become federal employees.

Socialized sex is surely a vote winner.

[Josephus]

Looks like they reversed their decision.

https://www.avclub.com/onlyfans-realizes-it-fucked-up-will-not-ban-porn-anymo-1847554159

Last week, OnlyFans made the very questionable move to ban users from uploading "any sexually explicit content." The new rule was supposed to start on October 1. It made no sense; barely anyone uses OnlyFans for anything other than porn. And for sex workers who used the service, OnlyFans provided financial security, so the decision felt like slap in the face to those who've made the platform so successful in the first place. It was also one of the few safe spaces where sex workers could share whatever content they wanted and set their own prices for a subscription.

After receiving immense backlash, the site reversed its decision. OnlyFans shared a statement on social media on Wednesday morning, that reads:

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. An official communication to creators will be emailed shortly.

[Malthus]

The Onion has an article on this:
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.theonion.com/onlyfans-ceo-admits-decision-to-ban-pornography-was-mad-1847526581/amp