Yet, from our research and that of the BBC’s, underage users have used other people’s IDs and have created an account without a problem – suggesting that the age verification is not robust enough. In May 2019, OnlyFans introduced a new account verification process that a Creator now must provide a ‘selfie’ along with their ID in the image to prove their identity. New laws published in the Online Safety Bill in May, says companies will be fined £18m or 10% of their global turnover if they fail to keep children safe on their platforms. Meaning, creator of the content and the person that buys it would face criminal liability if any action was taken. Additionally, there currently is no legal requirement for online platforms to monitor explicit content that could have originated from underage users.
UK law states that you must be over the age of 18 to sell or distribute explicit content. We do not scan the content of private accounts, but we continually look for ways to find and remove these accounts, including discussions with other platforms like Twitter.” What does UK law say? Snapchat told the BBC: “We strictly prohibit accounts that promote or distribute pornographic content. Twitter said it has: “Zero tolerance for any material that features or promotes child sexual exploitation,” and asked for “further information on the accounts found in the documentary that may have been linking to such content.”
Worryingly, a large number of underage creators use social media to sell nudes in exchange for money and gifts. The documentary found as many as a third of Twitter users advertising explicit images with hashtags “nudes4sale” or “buymynudes” are under 18 – according to facial analysis technology by Yoti. The British-based site has become increasingly popular for people who have become unemployed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but also, it’s popular amongst sex workers.Ī recent BBC documentary – #Nudes4Sale investigated the rise of under 18’s selling explicit content on not just OnlyFans but Twitter and Snapchat Premium. What are the concerns raised about OnlyFans? What is OnlyFans’ minimum age limit?Īccording to the OnlyFans policy, users must be 18 years or older. Content is mainly created by YouTubers, fitness trainers, models, content creators, public figures, in order to monetise their profession. OnlyFans is an online platform and app created in 2016 where people can pay for content (photos and videos, live streams) via a monthly membership.