FanCentro has begun legal action in the United States against OnlyFans’ owner Leonid Radvinsky and the company which receives OnlyFans’ payments, Fenix Internet LLC.
As per a report by BBC, OnlyFans directed an unidentified social media company to disable accounts of performers by placing their content on a terrorism database.
It cited previously unreported legal documents saying OnlyFans representatives paid bribes to the firm’s employees to facilitate the practice.
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OnlyFans, an online subscription platform known for adult content, was launched in 2016. The UK-based company boomed during the pandemic as it became a way for creators to earn money selling content directly to subscribers.
The subscription site said in a prepared statement that the legal claim has “no merit”.
A lot of sex workers joined OnlyFans during the pandemic when in-person venues shut down or became more dangerous because of COVID-19. The site has been tremendously lucrative for some people, allowing them to earn thousands every month.
OnlyFans says it has 130 million users and 2 million creators who have collectively earned $5 billion.
Also read | OnlyFans will ban ‘sexually explicit’ content, but keep nudity
In December, OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely said he was stepping down as CEO and would be replaced by Ami Gan, who was previously its chief marketing officer.
The online porn industry is changing amid concerns about sex trafficking and the exploitation of minors. Two 2018 laws, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act and the Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act, were meant to stop sex trafficking online, and led some spaces to shut down. But many sex workers say these changes have also made their jobs more dangerous.
A bipartisan group of over 100 members of Congress called on the Justice Department to investigate OnlyFans earlier in August, saying the site was a “major marketplace” for sexual videos with children in them. The letter cited anti-porn group National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which has its origins in the faith-based group Morality in Media, as a source, as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Sex workers and their advocates say conservative and religious groups are trying to erase sex from the internet under the guise of combating sex trafficking and child pornography.
Adult-content companies have to navigate higher fees and requirements from financial companies beyond what most retailers encounter; others won’t touch it.
Both Mastercard and Visa last year began blocking customers from using credit cards on Pornhub after accusations that the site had videos of rape and underage sex. American Express cards, meanwhile, can’t be used on online pornography. Stripe won’t process adult content.
(With inputs from agencies)
