The OnlyFans platform, known in particular for erotic photos and videos published by creators for paid subscriptions, announced on Wednesday that it had reversed its decision to ban all sexually explicit content.
The founder and managing director of the site, Tim Stokely, had linked this initial decision to the threat of large banks to end their relations with OnlyFans, for fear of seeing their reputation tarnished.
Read alsoOnlyFans will ban sexual content but not nudity
"
We have put together the necessary safeguards to support our diverse creative community and have suspended the regulatory change scheduled for October 1,
" OnlyFans tweeted.
"
OnlyFans is fighting for inclusion and we will continue to provide accommodation for all creators,
" the post continued.
Asked by AFP for more details on the reasons for this turnaround, the group did not immediately follow up.
Users multiply by 15 in two years
Founded in 2016 in the United Kingdom, OnlyFans took off thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, which has kept hundreds of millions of internet users in their homes. The platform now claims more than 150 million users, a figure multiplied by more than 15 in just two years. OnlyFans says it has more than 1.5 million content creators, to whom the site claims to donate more than $ 5 billion per year.
On the site, “
fans
” can pay to subscribe to profiles that interest them and thus have access to updated content at different intervals.
In an interview with the Financial Times published Tuesday, Tim Stokely had notably accused the American bank BNY Mellon of having refused to make transfers from user accounts to those of creators.
"
We had no choice,
" he said at the time of the decision to ban "
all sexually explicit content
" but not nudity.
To read also "
On Onlyfans, young people can be easily spotted by pimps
"
For several months, OnlyFans has been trying to change its image in order to make it more respectable. Today, the content highlighted on the platform is neither sexual nor erotic, the platform emphasizing videos of cooking recipes, fitness or health advice.