OnlyFans realizes the whole purpose of the site was explicit content and backtracks

This comes just days after OnlyFans announced it would ban sexually explicit content.
 By 
Christianna Silva
 on 
OnlyFans realizes the whole purpose of the site was explicit content and backtracks
Over one week, OnlyFans banned sexually explicit content and brought it back. Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images

Well, that was fast.

Just days after OnlyFans announced that it would ban sexually explicit content on the site, the company has reversed its decision.

On August 19, the platform announced it would ban sexually explicit content on the site starting on October 1, 2021. The backlash was immediate. Some sex workers left the site as soon as the announcement was made in order to find alternative places to work. Sex workers and activists said the ban put their lives — and livelihoods — in very real danger. And that massive break in trust isn't likely to smooth over quickly.


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OnlyFans said the ban was because, while there are plenty of users and creators on the app, they could not pull in enough investors. But, just a few days later in a Wednesday morning tweet, the company said it "secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community."

When Mashable asked OnlyFans what kind of agreement they made with the banks, or which banks are down for paying a site with sexually-explicit content on it, the platform declined to comment. They did respond in an email saying: "The proposed October 1, 2021 changes are no longer required due to banking partners' assurances that OnlyFans can support all genres of creators." As Variety reported, this resolution could have come exactly because it went so public with the issue of garnering funding while its workers produced explicit content despite being one of the largest and most financially successful platforms for creators that continues to grow.

It's unclear if OnlyFans will bring sexually explicit content back for good, as it said it "suspended" the ban. The platform did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Mashable on the timeline or specifics of this change.

In response to the change, sex workers aren't celebrating yet. Many of the creators on OnlyFans left last week when the ban was first announced, and some of them say they're staying off the platform. Some are also planning to protest banking and platform discrimination on September 1.

"Keep the banks and platforms feet to the fire everyone," one tweet in support of the protest read. "This isn’t a win yet, but it isn’t a loss yet either!"

UPDATE: Aug. 25, 2021, 11:12 a.m. EDT This article has been updated with more context.

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Christianna Silva
Senior Culture Reporter

Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.

Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.

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