OnlyFans will be temporarily pausing accounts of creators in Russia, saying, “[We] can no longer properly serve our Russian creator community.”
The platform, used largely for adult content and made known by sex workers, said in a statement: “Over the past few months we have explored several options to continue providing our services to creators impacted by the Russia / Ukraine war. However due to a further tightening of payment restrictions to and from Russia, OnlyFans can no longer properly serve our Russian creator community.”
“As a result, we are taking steps to temporarily pause accounts where payments are received in Russia.”
When Russia first invaded Ukraine in February, the site similarly blocked Russian creators from accessing their earnings and accounts. Due to economic sanctions, payments to OnlyFans creators were “not supported,” causing panic and fear amongst creators who rely on the platform for their livelihoods. Accounts and payments were later restored, however, with full functionality.
Two months later, the subscription-based service is again saying it is unable to support Russian creators. As per the company statement, this appears to be temporary, but it is unclear what the future looks like for users in Russia.
Mashable has reached out to OnlyFans for comment.
OnlyFans joins a cluster of creator-led platforms that have been blocked, banned, or hindered in Russia. In March, Instagram was completely blocked in the country, which head of Instagram Adam Mosseri called “wrong”. Twitter has been impacted in the country, reportedly made almost inaccessible, and the company has also restricted Russian government official’ accounts and any misinformation that arises from the Kremlin. Meanwhile, TikTok is still available for viewing, but Russian creators are unable to post content themselves.
