If you have been active on social media beyond Facebook and Instagram, you must have heard about OnlyFans. And if you have heard about OnlyFans, I am sure you must be aware of the controversies surrounding this subscription-based video content service and the blatant sexual content available on it.
Have you ever wondered if it is illegal to use OnlyFans? Let us try finding out.
OnlyFans as a service is not illegal. However, because of the heavy dose of sexual and NSFW content on it, the service has been banned in some countries. Some countries deem it legal, but in some, posting NSFW content on OnlyFans is illegal. Whether OnlyFans is illegal largely depends on your country and the region where you want to access the platform.
What is OnlyFans?
Before finding out if OnlyFans is illegal, let us understand what is OnlyFans and how it works. This will help you understand why it is illegal in some countries.
OnlyFans is a subscription-based platform for video content where content creators can upload their content on the platform and charge a subscription fee to their subscribers (called fans). While it was a regular content streaming service when it was launched in 2016, the platform became famous (or should we say notorious) for its sexual content. It was during the pandemic era that OnlyFans went on to become a huge attraction because of the heavy dose of sexual content posted on the site.
Is OnlyFans Illegal?
OnlyFans is not illegal per se. As a content-sharing platform, it is entirely legal in its basic form in most of the countries. However, some countries have banned it by labeling it illegal due to the NSFW content posted on the platform.
OnlyFans is a content-selling platform that helps talented content creators sell their content and earn a decent income. From that perspective, it is not illegal in any way. However, the content that it hosts on its platform can be a concern that makes it illegal in some countries.
To state it directly, OnlyFans is entirely legal in most of the regions across the UK, USA, Canada, and most of Europe. However, some countries in the Asian region have banned it.
What countries is OnlyFans Banned in?
OnlyFans is banned in some Asian countries because of its sexual content as said earlier. Some countries let you browse the content on OnlyFans, but you cannot create or upload any content on the platform. Want to know what countries is OnlyFans banned in?
The list of the countries that have banned OnlyFans includes:
- Afghanistan
- Angola
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Belarus
- China
- India
- Iran
- Kuwait
- Pakistan
- Qatar
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Thailand
- Türkiye
- UAE
The countries that have banned OnlyFans have made their decision based on the religious reasons and ideological standpoints specific to their countries. The OnlyFans legality in some countries is a matter of self-conscience. You may need to check the laws that generally govern the types of posts allowed on social media in your region.
It can be observed that OnlyFans has over 75% of its content creators involved in creating sexual content and making money by selling it. Even when the promotion of in-person services of a sexual nature is banned on OnlyFans, it has several content creators on the platform who are sex workers, indulging in a surreptitious promotion of their service in-person services.
What are the legal issues related to OnlyFans?
There are several legal concerns surrounding OnlyFans and the content shared on it. The type and genre of content can pose issues in some countries. At the same time, it may also be influenced by religious considerations or legal matters related to feminism in the context of OnlyFans content.
Some of the legal issues that surround the content on OnlyFans can be summed up as:
Illegal content
The presence of illegal content is the primary reason for the ban on OnlyFans. Some of these would include child sexual abuse, violence, gore, and content created around drugs.
However, most of this content is automatically removed by OnlyFans. OnlyFans rules specifically ban most of the content across the following categories.
- Child abuse – sexual or otherwise.
- Drugs.
- Violence and gore.
- Illegal activities like necrophilia or paedophilia.
- Promoting in-person services by sex workers.
- Self-harm or content that involves urine or faeces.
Underage users
Since OnlyFans can have underage users browsing through its content, exposure of adult content to teenagers can be a huge concern. Most of the countries do not have a proper age verification. Many sites dealing in sexual content simply rely upon the self-declaration, which is never foolproof.
OnlyFans does have stringent verification for underage users, but the methods used are not the most secure and may be ineffective in preventing underage users from accessing the content.
Deepfake videos
With the growth of AI, deepfake videos have become an enormous threat. However, this isn’t a concern typically related to OnlyFans alone. Almost every platform, including the sober ones like Facebook and YouTube too, faces issues related to deepfake videos and other similar content.
Revenge p*rn
Revenge p*rn is a serious concern on OnlyFans. You may find a content creator on OnlyFans who may be using the platform for revenge p*rn. It involves posting content that involves their partner, ex, or anyone they know. Once again, this issue is not just specific to OnlyFans and needs stringent laws to fight it.
Feminist perspective
Feminists consider OnlyFans to be a platform with a male perspective, and they also consider it to be objectifying women. The feminist movement believes that the platform commodifies women by selling the content that involves them and their sexual content.
A few legal issues involving OnlyFans
There were a few legal issues that involved OnlyFans. It has a history of few legal accusations. Some of them include
A Singaporean creator who faced legal charges.
In 2021, a Singaporean creator called Titus Low was charged for posting 32 explicit photographs and 29 videos on his OnlyFans account. Since Singapore has stringent laws governing sexually explicit content, it has laws that prohibit any obscene material shared or transmitted online.
Tax battle in Europe
In February 2023, OnlyFans lost a tax battle against the UK authorities over the sales tax charges. The operator of the service has faced tax evasion charges in the UK.
Conclusion
Well, OnlyFans has today become a platform for adult content largely. Even though it was not designed to be an adult platform, it has grown to be one during the pandemic because of the sex workers who found it to be a lucrative source of some decent income.
However, the platform is not illegal in any region from across the world. Except for a few countries across the Asian region, you would find the site being utterly legal across Europe and North America. Unlike OnlyFans, FanFix – a very similar platform, was launched lately which is strict against the NSFW content.
FAQs
Is it illegal to share OnlyFans content?
As per the rules of OnlyFans, you cannot share and republish any content from another creator on OnlyFans. You are not allowed to copy, distribute, or download any content from OnlyFans.
What content is not allowed on OnlyFans?
OnlyFans does not allow content around child sexual abuse, unnatural sexual activities like pedophilia, necrophilia, incest, etc. hate speech, content involving escort or sexual service in-person promotion, and drugs, to name a few.
Are you allowed to take a screenshot on OnlyFans?
As per the terms of service on OnlyFans, you can take a screenshot of OnlyFans if you are a subscriber. However, you are not allowed to share it on other platforms, such as social media platforms.
How is OnlyFans legal?
OnlyFans is legal in most countries. However, you should make sure that you are following the regulations in your region concerning the permitted content on public platforms.
