OnlyFans, a subscriber-based site known for hosting pornographic content, has announced it will no longer allow sexually explicit material on the site as of October, The Guardian reported.
OnlyFans said payments processors were putting pressure on the company to restrict the content, according to the report. They raised concerns about the type of material on the site, and the company did not want to risk losing its ability to accept payments. So, the new restrictions were introduced.
“In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of the platform, and to continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans, we must evolve our content guidelines,” a spokesperson for the site said, per the report.
The company clarified by saying that nudity will still be allowed, but any sexually explicit content will be banned, and the site will be more focused on more mainstream content, according to the report.
The boom in the site’s popularity has been a boon for sex workers, who were able to earn substantial incomes through the site and gain financial freedom, the report stated.
The company, based in London, gained a wide swathe of new support and brought the company millions of pounds as people turned to the site to make money or to chat with content creators, according to the report. OnlyFans has repeatedly maintained that the site is for a range of entertainment, including chefs and yoga instructors, but pornography has become the most popular content on the site.
The OnlyFans news follows suit with the general trend for online pornography, which has been seeing both a boom in popularity and more scrutiny, the report stated.
Last year, Mastercard and Visa announced they would no longer be processing payments for Pornhub amid reports that the site was hosting videos showing the sexual assault of minors. Because of the reports, Pornhub eventually tightened rules on what videos would be allowed on the site and ended up deleting any content from nonverified accounts.
Read more: Mastercard, Visa Stop Payments Processing On Pornhub Over Alleged Content
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