OnlyFans’ paywalls complicate police efforts to detect child sexual abuse materials (CSAM) on the platform, according to a recent Reuters report. Five specialists in online child sexual abuse told Reuters that the decentralized paywall system makes it challenging to independently verify the amount of CSAM being posted. Experts like Trey Amick, who aids in police CSAM investigations, indicated that monitoring would require subscribing to every account.
OnlyFans claims a very low incidence of CSAM on its platform, citing the removal of 347 posts out of its 3.2 million accounts in 2023. These were reported to the CyberTipline of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which was given monitoring access to the platform in late 2023, according to Reuters. However, this access only extends to accounts already reported or related to missing child cases.
While OnlyFans provides free-access accounts to law enforcement during active investigations, this does not assist in identifying CSAM on accounts not yet flagged. The platform mandates significant personal identification information from would-be creators, including bank details and a selfie with a government ID. However, Reuters found these measures are not foolproof, with some minors successfully evading age verification.
An OnlyFans spokesperson highlighted the platform’s rigorous safety controls and noted that the low amounts of reported CSAM reflect this effort. They emphasized the platform’s proactive stance against abuse and noted that the lack of anonymity and end-to-end encryption makes law enforcement investigations actionable.