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SALT LAKE CITY — OnlyFans now says it is suspending a policy it announced last week that would have banned sexually explicit content on the app starting Oct. 1.
A tweet from the U.K.-based platform's official Twitter account Wednesday thanked its creators and consumers for making their voices heard about their concerns with the new policy, which would affect the majority of the content and creators on the app.
Utah GOP Rep. Burgess Owens last week applauded the policy banning explicit content, saying, "We have a responsibility to protect our children from platforms that promote unsafe online environments and child exploitation."
Owens recently joined more than 100 House Republicans and Democrats in urging the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate OnlyFans for allegedly being a "major marketplace" for child pornography. Utah is one of 16 states that have passed resolutions declaring pornography a public health issue. In March, the Utah Legislature passed a bill requiring that new cellphones and tablets sold in Utah come with activated pornography filters.
"I am deeply disappointed by OnlyFans' dangerous decision that will undoubtedly continue troubling patterns of sexual exploitation and call on the Department of Justice to launch an immediate investigation into this platform," Owens told KSL.com Wednesday.
The platform's tweet said, "We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change. OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators."
The original move was in response to the app's banking partners Mastercard and Visa creating rules requiring OnlyFans to review all content before publication and verify every user and performer in every video, including livestream. However, now the platform sent out an email to creators explaining that the changes were "no longer required due to banking partners' assurance that OnlyFans can support all genres of creators."
Many dissatisfied former OnlyFans creators and sex workers have been switching to other, smaller platforms, citing the initial policy change and the inability of the platform to specifically say that it would completely reverse the policy instead of just "suspending" it.
