Quote:
Originally Posted by Markul
It's happening. People will say no and so will OF right up until the day they pull the plug and that day is rapidly coming.
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This!
And They are on a " Pornhub " Situation in the UK recently:
British subscription site OnlyFans is failing to prevent underage users from selling and appearing in explicit videos, a BBC investigation has found.
Under-18s have used fake identification to set up accounts, and police say a 14-year-old used a grandmother's passport.
The UK's most senior police officer for child protection also says children are being "exploited" on the platform.
OnlyFans says its age verification systems go over and above regulatory requirements.
The platform has more than a million "creators" who share video clips, photos and messages directly with subscribers for a monthly fee.
In return for hosting the material, OnlyFans takes a 20% share of all payments.
Warning: Story contains adult themes and language
There is a range of content on the site but it is best known for pornography, and requires users to be over 18.
OnlyFans was a big winner during the pandemic, exploding in popularity as much of the world was housebound. The social media platform has grown nearly 10-fold since 2019, and now has more than 120 million users.
Some creators have become millionaires from their accounts, yet for most it has been a lifeline or a second income during the pandemic.
But BBC News has investigated concerns that under-18s are selling explicit videos on the site, despite it being illegal for individuals to post or share indecent images of children.
Have you had an experience on OnlyFans? Email [email protected]
As part of our investigation, we found that one 17-year-old from a suburb in the south-east of England had sold videos of herself masturbating and playing with sex toys, while an under-18 participated in graphic videos hosted on an adult account in Nevada, US, in breach of the company's terms and conditions.
We were also able to set up an account for an underage creator, by using a 26-year-old's identification, showing how the site's age-verification process could be cheated.
OnlyFans says it has now shut down the accounts. But BBC News has also heard from child protection experts across the UK and US, spoken to dozens of police forces and schools, and obtained anonymised extracts from Childline counsellor notes, about underage experiences on OnlyFans. The notes included one girl who told counsellors she had accessed the site when she was just 13.
These sources told BBC News about a number of serious cases:
Schools have shared anonymous reports of pupils using the site, including a 16-year-old who boasted to her careers adviser about the amount of money she made on the site, and showed off her "exuberant" spending on Instagram.
Underage creators and users of the site include victims of prior sexual abuse and those with mental health issues and suicidal thoughts, according to Childline counsellor notes.
UK police forces say children have complained about their images being uploaded to the site without consent, and one 17-year-old reported being blackmailed.
Missing children are appearing in OnlyFans videos, according to a US watchdog, which also says it has received reports of child sexual exploitation.
"It is increasingly clear that OnlyFans is being used by children," says chief constable Simon Bailey, the UK's child protection lead.
"The company is not doing enough to put in place the safeguards that prevent children exploiting the opportunity to generate money, but also for children to be exploited."
In a statement, OnlyFans says it could not respond specifically to the anonymous reports we were told about without the account details.
It says its efforts to stop children accessing its site limits the likelihood of them being exposed to blackmail or exploitation, and if it is notified about these behaviours it takes swift action and disables accounts.
It started with feet photos
Leah, 17, was able to set up an account using a fake driving licence and sell explicit videos.
She told her mum Caitlyn about being on OnlyFans, on the way to Tesco's near their home in south-east England in January.
That week Leah's bank account had been frozen after she received a payment of more than £5,000 from selling explicit videos on the site, Caitlyn says.
Caitlyn says she was as shocked as "any parent" would be. "I don't understand why people are paying so much money for this," she told the BBC.
Leah had "big issues" growing up and missed a lot of education, Caitlyn says. Naked photographs of her were once shared around school without her consent.
She told her mum she originally intended to only post pictures of her feet after making money selling them on Snapchat. But this soon escalated to explicit videos of her masturbating and playing with sex toys.
In tweets advertising her OnlyFans account - some of which include teaser videos - people call her "beautiful" and "sexy", and ask if she would meet up.
"Post a pussy shot and I'll subscribe," is another typical response.
Caitlyn says she doesn't approve of her daughter using the site, but can see why people go on it, given how much money can be made.
Leah used most of the money to buy presents for her boyfriend, including more than £1,000 on designer clothes. They have since broken up.
In a statement, OnlyFans said that Leah's ability to access the site was an "oversight", and her fake driving licence did not trigger a red flag. It said her account was approved during a transition "from one effective ID and age verification system to a new exceptionally effective" one.
Leah's age was directly reported to OnlyFans by an anonymous social media account in late January. The company says this led to a moderator reviewing the account and double-checking her ID. As it appeared legitimate, no further action was taken.
Caitlyn says it was stated "everywhere" on other online accounts that her daughter was 17. There is no obligation for a website to investigate, but OnlyFans told the BBC it checks social media when verifying accounts.
Leah stopped posting on OnlyFans, but her account remained active on the site four months later, with more than 50 archived pictures and videos. She had logged on as recently as late April.
Have you had an experience on OnlyFans? Please share your story by emailing
[email protected]
After being contacted by BBC News, OnlyFans shut down her page. It says it has also refunded all active subscriptions to her account. But images from her account have already been leaked all across the internet.
Leah's now anxious about leaving the house for fear of being recognised, her mum says. Her plans to go to college have been delayed.
"She won't go out at all, really," Caitlyn says. "She doesn't want to be seen."
Grandmother's passport
BBC News also heard of other cases of underage children gaining access to OnlyFans.
Hertfordshire Police told us that a 14-year-old girl had managed to use her grandmother's passport and bank details to sell explicit images. They say she then redirected money from that account to her own.
OnlyFans says the account was "fraudulent" and involved the help of others. The site says it is assisting police and has since updated its age-verification system to "further reduce the chance" of this happening again.
But BBC News tested the site's "new exceptionally effective" system in April. While a fake ID did not work, we were able to set up an OnlyFans account for a 17-year-old by using her 26-year-old sister's passport. The girl never had access to the account.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-57255983