British unicorn OnlyFans has scrapped plans to remove sexually explicit content from its platform from 1 October.
“Thank you to everyone for making your voices heard,” it tweeted.
“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.”
READ: OnlyFans: British porn unicorn set for expansion after funding round
The policy change had met huge backlash from sex workers groups, as many rely on the platform for income.
Never underestimate the power of community, together we demanded our voices were heard. 'Suspended' is not canceled, and Onlyfans is not to be trusted, but now more than ever, it is time we come together and fight for our rights at work. https://t.co/hbxXOUxMuw
— United Sex Workers (@unitedswers) August 25, 2021
OnlyFans, which self-describes as a “subscription social platform”, was created to connect content creators and fans and was valued at US$1bn earlier this year.
It takes 20% of all payments made by users and saw a 75% increase in new creators during the pandemic.
Dear Sex Workers,
The OnlyFans community would not be what it is today without you.
The policy change was necessary to secure banking and payment services to support you.
We are working around the clock to come up with solutions.#SexWorkIsWork
— OnlyFans (@OnlyFans) August 21, 2021
Earlier this week, founder Tim Stokely told the Financial Times that the “increasingly unfair actions” of banks were the cause of the ban.
He said that Metro Bank (LSE:MTRO) had disrupted the service by shutting down the group’s corporate account in 2019, while Bank of New York Mellon “flagged or rejected” cash associated with OnlyFans, and JPMorgan Chase is “particularly aggressive in closing accounts of sex workers”.
Stokely said that the ban was needed to “safeguard their funds and subscriptions from increasingly unfair actions by banks and media companies” and that the company had “no choice”.