FanCentro has filed a lawsuit in the United States against OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky and the company that receives payments from OnlyFans, Fenix Internet LLC.
According to a BBC report, OnlyFans asked an unidentified social media company to deactivate performers’ accounts by placing their content in a terrorism database.
He cited previously unpublished legal documents indicating that OnlyFans representatives paid bribes to company employees to facilitate the practice.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 exploded during the pandemic as it became a way for creators to make money by selling content directly to subscribers.
The subscription site said in a prepared statement that the legal claim had “no merit.”
Many sex workers joined OnlyFans during the pandemic when in-person venues closed or became more dangerous due to COVID-19. The site has been extremely lucrative for some people, earning them thousands of dollars every month.
OnlyFans says it has 130 million users and 2 million creators who have collectively earned $5 billion.
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In December, OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely said he was stepping down as CEO and would be replaced by Ami Gan, who previously served as its chief marketing officer.
The online porn industry is evolving 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, aimed to end online sex trafficking and led to some spaces being closed. But many sex workers say these changes have also made their jobs more dangerous.
A bipartisan group of more than 100 members of Congress called on the Justice Department to investigate OnlyFans in early August, saying the site was a “major market” for child sex videos. The letter cited as a source the anti-porn group National Center on Sexual Exploitation, which has its origins in the Morality in Media faith group, as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Sex workers and their advocates say conservative and religious groups are trying to wipe sex off the internet under the guise of fighting sex trafficking and child pornography.
Adult content companies have to deal with higher fees and demands from financial companies beyond what most retailers encounter; the others will not touch it.
Last year, Mastercard and Visa began blocking customers from using credit cards on Pornhub after accusations that the site contained videos of rape and sex with minors. American Express cards, on the other hand, cannot be used for online pornography. Stripe will not process adult content.
(With agency contributions)
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