The CEO and founder of OnlyFans is blaming banks and media companies for the site’s impending porn ban.
According to Tim Stokely, many banks have cited “reputational risk” in refusing to do business with OnlyFans due to the pornographic images and videos on the site. “The change in policy, we had no choice—the short answer is banks,” he told The Financial Times in an interview.
“JPMorgan Chase is particularly aggressive in closing accounts of sex workers or… any business that supports sex workers,” he added.
Stokely also claims media companies have been unfairly targeting OnlyFans for the illegal content circulates on the site when other mainstream social media platforms struggle with the same problems. In May, the BBC published a story about how underage users sell sexually explicit videos on OnlyFans, despite its content-moderation systems.
“Banks read the same media as everyone else,” Stokely told the FT.
In December, Visa and Mastercard pulled support from another major adult video platform, PornHub, following an op-ed piece from The New York Times documenting the child porn and rape videos that can circulate over the site.
Stokely spoke out as critics have slammed OnlyFans for abandoning the sex workers who helped make the site famous. The ban, which takes effect Oct. 1, will still permit nudes. But any content that involves actual or simulated sex or masturbation will no longer be permitted.
According to Stokely, OnlyFans would welcome the return of porn if the banking environment changes. But for now, it’s focused on preserving its ability to process funds for creators.
“This decision was made to safeguard their funds and subscriptions from increasingly unfair actions by banks and media companies—we obviously do not want to lose our most loyal creators,” he added.
