Here's why OnlyFans barred porn this week

https://www.businessinsider.com/onlyfans-blocks-some-of-its-nsfw-content-explained-2021-8?r=AU&IR=T
Francis Agustin and Allana Akhtar 7 hours ago

• OnlyFans announced this week that it would be blocking content depicting "sexually-explicit" activity.
• Part of what made the company so popular was catering to creators and subscribers' interest in adult content.
• Sex workers, especially those who collected steady income from subscriptions, expressed their frustration with the site's decision.

OnlyFans this week decided to bar sexually-explicit content, which made the online creator platform millions of dollars, in a move that may upend how adult entertainers use the site.

What is OnlyFans?
OnlyFans is a content subscription service that allows content creators to receive funding from "fans" who subscribe to them. Fans can make direct payments in the form of one-time tips to monthly installments to view content ranging from musicians to physical fitness.

The company said it had more than 1 million creators and more than 100 million register users.

The platform became largely associated with sex workers, who use the site to host adult content, after MyFreeCams founder Leonid Radvinsky bought majority stakes in the company. Celebrities like Bella Thorne, Tana Mongeau, and Michael B Jordan started OnlyFans accounts, which helped bolster the site's popularity.

What happened with Only Fans this week?
OnlyFans announced on Thursday that the platform would be blocking sexually explicit material starting October 1. Creators will still be able to upload nude photos or videos to their site, as long as it doesn't further violate the company's Acceptable Use Policy.

"In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of our platform, and to continue to host an inclusive community of creators and fans, we must evolve our content guidelines," the company said in a statement. "These changes are to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout providers."

Why is OnlyFans doing this and what might it mean for the company?
Despite the profitability of NSFW content on OnlyFans, the company has had trouble finding investors because the site hosts adult content. Other companies who currently have similar valuations to OnlyFans don't have as much of a problem drawing in investors, according to documents obtained by Axios, which points to issues regarding the site's content and branding. Companies have also been uneasy given the possibility of underage users and depictions of sex-trafficked individuals appearing in videos.

Earlier this year, OnlyFans was reportedly looking at ways to make the site more palatable to the mainstream public, looking at shifting from sexual content to its celebrity and social influencer market. It started working with the Raine Group, a tech and telecom merchant bank, to find sources willing to invest. The company was also looking to Radvinsky to sell some of his shares to pull away from its ties to the adult entertainment market.

Tumblr made a similar move in 2018, banning users from posting adult content on its platform. A year after the "porn ban," the company saw a drop in downloads and its overall valuation. Its community also felt alienated from what was once seen as a generally safe space to explore and express sexuality. Users comfortable with posting adult content on the site struggled to find ways to create content and remain part of the Tumblr community. It is unclear how OnlyFans will adapt to ditching sexual content, which has become a recognizable part of its identity.

How are creators reacting?
Sex workers told Insider they felt frustrated by OnlyFans' lack of transparency about the decision.

"The current feeling I'm getting from other creators I know and myself is both anger and confusion," Chelsea Lynn, who said she was in the top 0.15% of creators, told Insider this week. "Sex work built OnlyFans, and now it feels like they're turning their backs on us."

Some users posted conversations with OnlyFans customer service representatives asking them not to believe "untrustworthy sources of information."

"We do not plan to move away from adult content and would have informed you upfront first if that would have ever happened," one OnlyFans representative told a user.

Jane Wilde, a sex workers who earns her income primarily through OnlyFans, said she felt frustrated the company provided media outlets with a statement before consulting creators.

Wilde also said she found the jokes some social media users made at her expense disheartening.

 

Because sex is just so damned naughty. God forbid we allow the masses to engage in the one physically-pleasurable activity that does not involve drugs.

Why don't they just ban having children? Because that involves the evil and filthy act of having sex.

Oh, right, it's "for the childrens' sake." Pretty soon, there will be no children left to protect.

 

*smacks forehead* Baron, THAT'S IT! All we need to do is come up with a SeksCoin! Redeemable only on sites with adult content!

Initial offering - $0.00001 per coin.

Initial float - 10,000,000,000 coins.

You in for 1 million coins? Let's make it happen, cap'n!

(I have no idea if that is how new crypto generation works, but sounds exciting. And your "Surf's Up, dude!" face can be the image of the coin, because it is also a face that says "I am getting lots of sex.")

 

Can I get some royalties out of this then, since I generated the idea? And you still owe me a sim steak dinner for guessing the correct number of new users on Feb 14th, 2018.

Edit: Actually screw it, make it a real steak dinner. I might be coming to Florida soon, would be great to hook up with you, shoot the shit and all that, hehe.

 

https://happymag.tv/tumblr-porn/
Years on from Tumblr’s infamous porn ban, where have those NSFW communities gone?



Tumblr’s celebration of diversity was the key to its success, providing a safe space for people who wanted to explore sexuality without judgement. So what exactly happened to all that Tumblr porn?

Digital platforms are so deeply interwoven into every aspect of our lives, functioning as roads for social connection and belonging. For many who feel isolated, the digital world can provide a sense of fellowship, offering miniature universes for every interest and passion. Tumblr porn was once a key part of the site’s footprint, so what happened?

For the American micro-blogging and social networking platform, erotica, sexual subcultures, and not-safe-for-work (NSFW) artwork and storytelling have thrived and flourished, celebrated for providing a sense of online intimacy and connection, especially to the queer community and other marginalised groups.


Artwork: Marius Sperlich

However, following the discovery that child pornography was prominent on the site in December 2018, Tumblr announced that they would be banning adult content in almost every form. This included all images and videos depicting sex acts, and real-life photos and videos depicting human genitalia or “female-presenting” nipples being banned from the service.

While it was clear that the presence of child pornography was an unacceptable issue that required urgent change, there was also undoubtedly a flip side to the coin. It made sense to tackle a large scale problem such as the presence of child porn with a large scale solution that was as cheap as possible. Rather than paying for the expensive task of patrolling the age of people in porn, Tumblr made the decision to overcorrect and ban NSFW content altogether. But at what cost? Almost immediately after the ban, Tumblr was criticised for censorship, instating digital homelessness in the colossal community of vulnerable people who once found solace in the platform.

Many mainstream social media platforms seem to push an unattainable cookie-cutter lifestyle upon its users, measuring the worth of an individual based on the wealth and appearance that they digitally convey. However, Tumblr’s celebration of diversity was the key to the platform’s success. Conversely to mainstream internet sectors, Tumblr provided a safe space for sex workers, erotica writers and artists, LGBTIQ+ people searching for a sense of solidarity and people who wanted to explore sexuality, kinks, and fetish without judgement.


The porn ban saw these users quickly bleed from the platform to the company’s detriment. While in 2013, Tumblr was sold for $US1.1 billion, 2019 (and not long after the ban) the company was sold for a less than $US3 million, reflecting that the NSFW community had driven the platform’s value.

As Tumblr dealt with their disastrous fall from grace, users were forced into a state of digital nomadism, seeking safe alternatives which provided the same sense of belonging. However, with Tumblr’s fast-paced demise came an ecological niche for new NSFW friendly sites to manifest.

All over the world, tech companies began creating what they hoped would be the most desirable retreat for this group of digital refugees. Within just a few weeks, Dean Abramson, chief architect at online gaming startup, Statabase, launched his side-project newTumbl, which humorously declared they would be filling “a void recently created in the marketplace.” The site’s FAQ section even went on to say that there’s a good chance that users will “instinctively know how to use this site” and may also find it “hauntingly familiar from the get-go”. newTumbl’s offer of asylum to NSFW bloggers was welcomed by many with open arms, gaining 200,000 users within just a few months. It’s growth over the following months, however, was far from impressive.

While it was predicted that the NSFW community would migrate to a platform which was specifically created to replace Tumblr, most users have dispersed to corners of the internet that already existed. While many have taken refuge in sites like newTumbl which function almost identically to Tumblr, others have found consolation in other types of social platforms.

In particular, Reddit has seen a considerable increase in NSFW subreddits, exploring every kind of sexual niche from erotic hypnosis to the humble foot fetish. Some of the most popular subreddits have millions of subscribers, while more specific kinks have much smaller communities which prosper all the same.

R/Tumblr of course exists, however it serves a specifically suitable-for-work subreddit where Redditors can repost their favourite Tumblr content. If you’re looking for Tumblr porn on Reddit, r/Tumblr is not your way in.

While NSFW content was always accessible on Reddit, Tumblr’s porn-ban saw the platform become widely known as the most sex-positive mainstream social media platform. It has also been recognised as an educational tool in a world where sex education falls short when it comes to assisting marginalised people in understanding their sexual identity.


Photo: Search Engine Journal

While many Tumblr users were seeking a sense of connection with people around the world who they relate with, others desired quality NSFW that they could explore discreetly and in private. For many years Pornhub has been the most popular free pornography website. However, many ex-Tumblr users wanted content which has been made and distributed ethically. As a result of Tumblr’s porn ban, several ethical, feminist porn sites began to rise in popularity, despite the fact they cost money to access. These platforms provided porn which celebrated consensual sex, inclusivity, gender equality and body positivity. Furthermore, the recent accusations of trafficking have seen over one million people sign a petition calling for Pornhub to be completely shut down, seeing more and more people switch to ethical NSFW platforms and communities.

The Tumblr porn ban echoed a downward spiral into online censorship that aimed to protect a marginalised group; however, the decision subsequently hurt many others. Despite a plethora of alternative porn sites and NSFW community forums, it will be impossible to replace everything else that made Tumblr what it was; something they grew organically and into something truly special. While it is comforting to know that there is digital shelter for vulnerable groups who were left feeling alone and isolated after Tumblr changed forever, will they ever feel truly at home in the online world again?

 

Why did Tumblr ban adult content?
It seemed very likely that Apple forced Tumblr to make the move.

In November 2018, Apple removed the blogging platform from its app store over child pornography issues.

Apple’s iOS guidelines states that all apps must have a content filter to screen out such material.

In a statement, Tumblr said that while every image uploaded to the platform is “scanned against an industry database of child sexual abuse material” to filter out explicit images, a “routine audit” discovered content that was absent from the database, allowing it to slip through the filter.

This led to a sitewide crackdown on pornography and eventually the banning of adult content.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/350755...tumblr-and-banning-sexually-explicit-content/

 

.......In its Thursday statement announcing the ban, OnlyFans said the “changes are to comply with the requests of our banking partners and payout providers” without naming said providers and partners.

And this is where it gets kind of weird. Sure, banks and payments companies have historically been wary of the porn industry, with Mastercard in April demanding verification of age and consent from adult content sellers.

But Mastercard on Thursday said it had not been in conversations with OnlyFans preceding the ban. “We found out about this through the media coverage. This appears to be a decision they came to themselves,” Seth Eisen, senior vice president of communications at Mastercard, wrote in an email to Term Sheet.Visa and Discover meanwhile have yet to respond to requests for comment.

Axioson Thursday provided another potential explanation that may have driven the ban: The company might be rolling in dough, but it has struggled to find investors willing to take a cut in the company in part due to its explicit content. Some venture capitalists are in fact unable to invest in such businesses due to so-called vice clauses that bar funds from putting dollars in industries around say sex and tobacco.

Then the BBC also published a report on the same day alleging that the company has lax moderation policies that have allowed illegal content, including those featuring minors, to appear.

All of this puts OnlyFans in a really messy position: It’s trying to go mainstream, and even kicked off promotions for a safe-for-work app this week. The ban could certainly address the issue of illegal pornography on its site—but users also say it could be kicking legal sex workers to the curb and raises the question as to whether OnlyFans is sending off its own biggest fans.
https://fortune.com/2021/08/20/dear-onlyfans-what-the-heck-are-you-doing-sincerely-the-internet/

 

Apple is the driver of the censorship Nazis.
New Rule: Your Phone is Turning You into an Asshole | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) - YouTube