Only last week, the website OnlyFans announced a policy change to rid the site of child porn and human trafficking videos. But Lina Nealon of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation tells AFN that the porn purveyor has changed its mind.
"We're hearing, and continue to hear, reports of child sex abuse material, sex trafficking, and non-consensually recorded sex," she reports. "I think OnlyFans is trying to hide behind policies but showing that they are not going to be changing anything in practice … and they need to feel that pressure."
OnlyFans says they changed their mind due to internal pressure and from users of the site. But Nealon argues that the porn pushers are forgetting the damage they are inflicting on the public, trafficking victims, and children.
"Their business model is one of exploitation," she emphasizes. "They're exploiting vulnerable adults who are socioeconomically vulnerable; and we know that wherever sex is sold … traffickers and predators [are tempted] to take advantage of those platforms to continue selling children and adults to make a profit."
The BBC recently ran an expose demonstrating that even minors – using fake identification – can easily set up accounts at OnlyFans. NCOSE is encouraging the public to report to them any violations by OnlyFans, and to contact federal prosecutors and other legal entities as well.
Original story (August 25, 2021):
Financial hits are creating a conscience
Though a popular content-sharing platform has vowed to implement changes and stay within the law, an anti-trafficking organization still plans to keep a watchful eye.
OnlyFans, a London-based content subscription service almost exclusively known for its sexual content, has skyrocketed to popularity and profit over the course of the pandemic. But Lina Nealon of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) tells American Family News some of the material on the site could be considered illegal.
"They really are known for selling pornography and became very popular in the commercial sex industry," she continues. "We saw increasing numbers of young people posting nudity and being engaged on OnlyFans, so we really wanted to raise a conscience to the growing platform."
After NCOSE launched a campaign in mid-August to expose the website, the company soon announced that it would no longer allow the posting of hardcore material starting at the first of October.
"They are making these changes, and they're publicly stating this due to payment processors putting pressure on them," Nealon relays. "We've been working with the major credit card companies to change their policies."
If credit card companies divorce themselves from the sites, NCOSE believes the financial loss will continue to compel change.
As for OnlyFans, it will continue to permit nude images and videos though, so Nealon's organization will continue to monitor the site to make sure no illegal material is allowed there.
