On Thursday the video and image sharing site OnlyFans announced plans to ban “sexually-explicit content” starting October 1st. While we’re still not sure exactly why it’s changing so drastically, it just sent out an updated Terms of Service policy to the creators who’ve built the site detailing exactly what won’t be allowed going forward.
Comparing the new OnlyFans Acceptable Use Policy to the old one makes the additions clear:
Do not upload, post, display, or publish Content on OnlyFans that:
- Shows, promotes, advertises or refers to “sexually explicit conduct”, which means:
- actual or simulated sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, or oral-anal, between persons of any sex;
- actual or simulated masturbation;
- any exhibition of the anus or genitals of any person which is extreme or offensive;
- actual or simulated material depicting bodily fluids commonly secreted during sexual conduct;
- All existing Content that shows, promotes, advertises or refers to “sexually explicit conduct” (which has the meaning given to it in section 5(b) of this Policy) must be removed before December 1, 2021, or by any other date which we communicate to Users.
Other sections of the policy that ban deepfakes, drugs, or violence, remain unchanged. In an email to OnlyFans creators, the site specified that “Content containing nudity will continue to be allowed as long as it is consistent with the policy.” Posts can show off body parts, but doing anything explicit (or zooming in too close) means they will be in violation. Any breach “may lead to your account being suspended or terminated, and access to your earnings being revoked.”
OnlyFans has largely built its billion-dollar business and brand on sex workers providing exactly the kind of content that’s being banned. Now those content creators have until December 1st to wipe any traces of the suddenly unacceptable content from their profiles.