OnlyFans Short-Lived Sex Work Ban Announcement Left Creators in a Frenzy

Everyone had to do a double take last week when it was announced that one of the biggest adult content platforms, OnlyFans, would be banning sexually explicit materials.

The announcement shocked audiences, but more importantly, dealt a lethal blow to the site’s creators who were given a measly six week notice of the policy changes. Thousands of creators on OnlyFans have painstakingly built their presence on the site from the ground up, finally able to finance their lives purely through their accounts after years of work. Now, all that work is being torn out from under them, and creators rightfully feel betrayed.

The updated terms of service claimed that OnlyFans’ creators can share some nude images, but videos and photos showing sex and masturbation will be prohibited. The OnlyFans Twitter account posted a message to their site’s top earners shortly after the announcement. It reads:

“Dear Sex Workers, the OnlyFans community would not be what it is today without you. The policy change was necessary to secure banking and payment services to support you. We are working around the clock to come up with solutions.”

Creators were not impressed with the company’s statement. The comments of the Tweet were promptly flooded with criticisms of OnlyFan’s decision. “WE brought the traffic. And you kicked us to the curb instead of standing up for us against the payment services,” one user wrote.

You’d think with the amount of money you made from us, you’d be able to implement the changes and moderation needed to keep us around. 🙄 Where can I get a refund?

— Darshelle Stevens (@Darshelle) August 21, 2021

Nothing you can say can turn back the clock. The damage as a company you have caused to millions of people and their income security is such a disservice to the very people that kept your company going, brought in your profits and your traffic.

We won’t forget or forgive this.

— 😊 (@_j_o_c_k_) August 23, 2021

Many people, including OnlyFans themselves, pointed the policies of credit card companies and banks to justify the sexual black-out. “Banking institutions are tremendously conservative—much more so than the general culture—and they’re risk-averse,” says Mike Stabile, the director of public affairs at the Free Speech Coalition, an advocacy group for workers in the adult industry. “What they’re doing is a softer version of censorship. It doesn’t come from the government; it happens at the credit-card level. They set the terms.”

But Mastercard, one of the site’s main transaction companies, have said they had nothing to do with decision, calling into question the validity of OnlyFans’ statement.

MasterCard even said they had nothing to do with this decision. pic.twitter.com/CA4ekCeBMv

— 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝙱𝚛𝚒 👸🏼 (@lovelybrilovesd) August 21, 2021

In May of 2021, The New York Times Magazine published an article about the ever-growing porn site. They featured and interviewed many of OnlyFans top creators, including Kimberly Kane. “OnlyFans is not going to last, but it is a hell of a ride,” Kane tells The Times. “They’ll take it away from us, just like they do everything else. It’s only a matter of time.”

However, today, August 25, due to backlash from content creators, Only Fans announced they’ve heard creators loud and clear—they will be suspending the policy change that would ban sex work.

“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.”

This story has been updated to reflect recent changes.