It’s Hardcore Porn No More On OnlyFans Starting October

Once again, the credit card industry has proven able to do what a conservative government has struggled to do: make frank depictions of sexual activity more difficult to find online and the lives of sex workers potentially more risky. This time, according to an article in Bloomberg, the target is on OnlyFans, a platform known and loved by sex workers for its ease of use and safety.

"In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of our platform, and to continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans, we must evolve our content guidelines,” OnlyFans said in the euphemistic language of business.

What this means for creatives and fans alike is that starting in October, nothing deemed in violation of the new and more restrictive content guidelines will be permitted. While creators may supposedly continue to post nude moving and still images, nothing more explicit will be permitted.

With more than 130 million users, that’s a lot of people who will be looking for new avenues to procure imagery and personal connection with their favorite porn and cam models.

Further complicating the issue is likely the company’s expansion into OFTV, a free streaming service launched this week and packed with fitness, comedy, health, live music, and other mainstream entertainment offerings. With no porn to filter out, OFTV has obvious expansion potential to a mobile app that OnlyFans alone, with its sex-based content, does not.

With so many traditionally “left” lifestyle issues finally being addressed and gaining mainstream acceptance within American society and law, it’s frustrating to see that sex work is still burdened by emotion-based misconceptions that extend into the banking and credit industries. Since OnlyFans handled more than $2 billion in sales last year and kept 20% of that, it’s a business success. It’s expected to double sales this year and is seeking outside investors to the tune of another $1 billion.

Cutting off the ability of fans to use their Visa, Mastercard, and Discover cards as they wish for the purchase of explicit clips has proven to be a substantial roadblock for providers big and small. It will be interesting to watch where a fuck-free OnlyFans and a family-friendly OFTV ultimately wind up. In the meantime, both fans and sex workers will suffer yet another hardship after already adapting to nearly two years of COVID-19.