OnlyFans to require criminal background checks through controversial screener

Adult platform OnlyFans will start conducting criminal background checks for U.S. creators, its CEO, Keily Blair, recently shared on LinkedIn. The AI-powered screener, however, has proved to be controversial.

Creators who want to upload on OnlyFans must already provide multiple forms of personal identification to be able to post on the site, including a government ID and banking information. Now, performers in the U.S. will also have to undergo a criminal background check through the screening provider Checkr.

"Checkr, Inc. helps OnlyFans to prevent people who have a criminal conviction, which may impact our community's safety, from signing up as a Creator on OnlyFans," Blair posted on LinkedIn.

On its website, Checkr states that 99 percent of its background checks are automated after data retrieval, with human quality assurance.

The screening service, which has also been used by "gig economy" companies Uber and DoorDash, has been the subject of dozens of lawsuits between 2015 and 2020, according to an archived 2020 Protocol article. These lawsuits were filed under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which regulates background checks (and credit reports), and alleged that Checkr made mistakes such as misreporting crimes and flagging criminal activity too old to report according to the FCRA.

In 2022, Checkr was named in another lawsuit, this one claiming it and Uber failed to properly screen drivers who were using stolen identities. In 2023, another lawsuit emerged, claiming that Checkr's "quick checks" had failed to uncover a DoorDash driver's criminal history.

OnlyFans and Checkr haven't responded to Mashable's request for comment.

Last month, Pornhub also announced it would establish criminal background checks for current and new content partners (studios, not individual creators).

Blair of OnlyFans and Pornhub both stated this move was to further safety on their platforms. It also comes at a time when the porn industry faces increased legislative scrutiny in the U.S. and abroad, with age-verification laws, which typically require robust age checks to keep minors off their platforms (despite studies saying that age verification doesn't work).