Five anonymous plaintiffs alleged in a class action lawsuit against OnlyFans’ parent company that the adults-only platform subjects its users to what they’re referring to as “systemic deception.” The complaint includes allegations that paying users are unwittingly interacting with paid chatters who impersonate creators. The plaintiffs claim that this is a violation of privacy.
This isn’t the first rodeo for the adults-only platform. OnlyFans has faced class action suits before, and prevailed in court after five (theoretically different) anonymous plaintiffs filed a lawsuit in California. The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. The plaintiffs had argued that OnlyFans was subject to personal jurisdiction in California due to conducting business there when California residents enrolled in recurring subscriptions. The charges brought forth included:
- Violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
- Violations of the Federal Video Privacy Protection Act
- Violations of the California Invasion of Privacy Act
- Violations of California's false advertising laws
- Violations of California's unfair competition laws
- Breach of contract
- Fraud
The question at the heart of the controversy is that of authenticity: Who are you really talking to when you choose to slide into an OF model’s DMs?
To understand the controversy, one must first understand how OnlyFans works. Individual creators, commonly known as “models,” run their businesses through an OnlyFans account. That account primarily generates revenue through subscriptions, where followers pay a recurring fee to access exclusive content from that creator. Content creators can also choose to offer additional paid content. Think photos, videos, or personalized interactions that come at a premium. OnlyFans takes a percentage of these earnings, leaving the rest for the creators to enjoy as money earned.
While the platform gained popularity for its adult content, it needs to be noted that creators span a wide range of industries. Fitness, cooking, and art are all genres that have a strong presence on OnlyFans. The controversy surrounding OnlyFans usually stems from debates surrounding adult content.
That said, multiple things can be true:
- Normal adults who are not professional porn stars can create a platform on OnlyFans, make content, and talk to fans via the OF messaging system.
- Adult film stars can also leverage personal brands on OnlyFans.
- Keeping up with messages from followers while attending to all other areas of running an OnlyFans business becomes difficult to do at scale.
- OnlyFans creators are running a business with multiple products and service offerings. The “girlfriend experience” is a paid service.
It’s not reasonable to expect someone you’re purchasing services from to actually be your partner. But a certain subset of lonely guys subscribe to OnlyFans and conflate this with buying a girlfriend.
The rise of AI chatbots has made it deceptively easy to fall in love with a robot and confuse this for genuine connection. People get addicted to contacting a pretend partner who has no needs, remembers everything about them, never suggests you go to therapy, and always responds right away with an answer that is tailored to whatever needs the human initiating the chatting might have.
OnlyFans terms of service don’t specifically allow the use of chat services, but their terms do caution against using “OnlyFans to engage in misleading or deceptive conduct, or conduct that is likely to mislead or deceive any other User.”
It is generally understood that the actors in adult films are putting on a performance. As with any performance, the audience is encouraged to suspend disbelief. In other words: everyone sets aside their critical thinking skills and knowledge of how the real world operates while they’re enjoying a performance, because reality would wreck the story. Intellectually, you might be aware that there are dozens of people on a film set even though there are only two actors on screen. But when you’re watching a movie (pornographic or otherwise), you’re not thinking about the director of photography or the costume designer. You’re focused on the actors giving a performance. The difference is that on OnlyFans, you can interact with the leading lady when she’s not in the middle of a scene.
And so does everyone else who pays for that privilege.
When your favorite local coffee shop gains popularity, and needs help keeping up with demand, the business owner hires additional baristas to help make lattes. Businesses that grow need support staff to continue to meet the needs of consumers - especially when those consumers demand 24/7 attention. It only makes sense that a model who amasses thousands of subscribers would need some customer support staff to help her care for every thirsty user. That’s what OnlyFans chatters are. Support staff.
So what options does this leave OnlyFans consumers who want to guarantee that their favorite model is indeed the one speaking to them? The only way to be sure the original creator is the one behind the screen is to order a custom video.
The end of the story is this: OnlyFans content creators are business owners protecting their bottom line. You might be interesting, but talking about your cat isn’t going to be fascinating enough to get them to give you their focused attention for free. If you want that attention, and it’s important to you that a bot isn’t on the other side of the chatbox, understand that you’re asking a business owner to provide a service. No business is in it for free.
With sending private photos to beautiful strangers on the internet, as with all things: Caveat emptor, some restrictions may apply.
