In November of 2016, OnlyFans was created by Tim and Thomas Stokely which was intended to be fan based platform for creators to share photos and videos for a monthly fee. These creators were intended to consist of musicians, physical fitness experts, chefs and so on. However the app quickly gained the attention from sex workers due to the flexibility in controlling one’s monthly income. It has been noted that those who make successful businesses on OnlyFans can receive up to a $10,000 for a monthly income. In fact, Bella Throne broke the record in earning $1 million dollars within 24 hours of joining the site by charging $200 for a each photo. OnlyFans has become the new norm of entrepreneurship for the wrong audience.
OnlyFans state-of-art-technology has insured easy access to child pornography. Children under the age of 18 as been able to bypass the apps age restrictions in order to sell explicit content of themselves for money. Children as young 12 years old have been able to create accounts by using fake ID’s. Some of these children have experienced prior abuse, have mental illness and have been identified as missing. In 2021 OnlyFans fell under investigation by the Department of Justice for child exploitation. Later OnlyFans released statements that any findings of child sexual abuse material is reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
In 2021 OnlyFans also announced a ban of explicit content which was reversed days later. The ban was due to banks like, Metro Bank, BNY Mellon, and JPMorgan Chase refusal to work with the company by flagging payments from the website. After the company’s agreement for new safety measures the ban of explicit content was reversed. Content creators are now required to take a picture next to their real ID in order to make an account. They must also provide information on bank details to make sure children are unable to make an account without the help on their parents. They also do not allow payments from Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Google Pay.
