OnlyFans is a website where users can pay to view exclusive content. While this popular website can be used for any genre of “exclusive content”, OnlyFans is widely known for its large demographic of adult content creators.

Many explicit content creators use OnlyFans as their primary source of income, but is OnlyFans safe? Generally speaking, yes. However, no platform or profession comes without its own risks.

There are various issues OnlyFans content creators face. For instance, with so many users uploading private photos of themselves – for a price – what happens when one of your “fans” leaks your nude photos without your permission? Can you sue someone for leaking your OnlyFans content? 

 

Intellectual Property Rights on “OnlyFans” 

According to the “OnlyFans” Terms of Service and the OnlyFans Acceptable Use Policy, “You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, or transmit any of the material on the Website, except as follows: you may store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes; and you may print or download one copy of a reasonable number of pages of the Website for your own personal, non-commercial use and not for further reproduction, publication, or distribution.”  

If a user violates OnlyFans’ policy by publishing or distributing stolen content elsewhere, the “OnlyFans” terms of service and the OnlyFans Acceptable Use Policy states “[their] right to use the Website will end immediately and [they] must, at FIL option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.”

Now this may help some victims, but simply banning a user from the website and expecting them to return copies of the materials may not be enough of a solution if the stolen content is being hosted elsewhere.

Legal Options for Dealing With an OnlyFans Leak

What is Revenge Porn?

“Revenge porn”, also known as non-consensual pornography, occurs when someone shares a sexually graphic image without consent of the person photographed. This act is illegal and is in violation of both civil and criminal law.  

In California, for example, a person leaking “OnlyFans” images or video could be charged with a misdemeanor, face up to 6 months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000 for distributing images that identify the victim with the intent to harm under Penal Code Section 647(j)(4). However, not every state has a revenge porn law, and those that do may differ. 

Additionally, there are no specific federal laws concerning revenge porn, but there have been some proposed. A bill called the Internet Privacy Protection Acts was introduced in Congress but struggled due to First Amendment concerns. Similarly, Arizona passed a revenge porn statute, but it was struck down for being overbroad and violating conduct protected by the First Amendment. If you can’t sue for revenge porn in your state, remember: there are still different routes you can take to achieve justice!

What is Invasion of Privacy?

Another legal route similar to revenge porn laws are those concerning invasion of privacy. Invasion of privacy occurs when there is an intrusion on your reasonable expectation to be left alone. One could argue that a user posting exclusive content to OnlyFans would reasonably expect that their content would not be stolen or distributed elsewhere, especially when you take the website’s terms of service into consideration. By this logic, leaking content from OnlyFans could also be considered an invasion of privacy.

How To Register a Copyright For Your OnlyFans Content

If you’d like to register a copyright, for your content posted to OnlyFans, or to prove content hosted on OnlyFans is being used without your permission, you can do so by completing the U.S. Copyright Office’s online registration independently or with the help of an RM Warner Law OnlyFans lawyer.

How a DMCA Notice Can Protect Your Intellectual Property

Along with their stance on intellectual property rights, OnlyFans also has a section in their Terms of Service that addresses DMCA takedowns. If your private content is being posted on OnlyFans without your consent, you have the option to submit a takedown request under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. To learn more about how DMCA takedown requests work, check out our blog: What Does a DMCA Takedown mean?

Is “OnlyFans” the Only Platform Like This?

No, it is not- but that doesn’t mean the grass is always greener on the other side.

Pocketstars is the newest internet content subscription service, but it’s not without legal issues, including leaks, harassment, and infringement. Founded by Elle Brooke, a fellow adult content creator, Pocketstars is known as one of the most secure sites in regard to protecting content creators. The new adult site is also gaining traction for allowing more “hardcore” content that can be paid for via crypto payments.

Although Pocketstars is much like its predecessor OnlyFans, there are a few key differences. For instance, Pocketstars has a minimum subscription fee of $40 whereas OnlyFans subscription fee is 50% less. The site also has an “Explore the Stars” page where creators are promoted, and Pocketstars offers free promotional graphics. The new site also prides itself on putting content creators first whereas OnlyFans has come under fire for failing to protect its creators.

Another difference between the platforms is their terms of use. Pocketstars has taken it upon themselves to explain content creators’ rights, and users’ rights, in layman’s terms for easy comprehension, whereas OnlyFans has stuck with the typical legal jargon making their terms a little more difficult to navigate.

OnlyFans is a London based company, however they explicitly state how they respect the intellectual property rights of copyright holders and have chosen to voluntarily comply with the Notice and Takedown provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”).

Pocketstars terms of use agreement explicitly states that the creator retains all ownership rights for their content. The policy goes on to state how Pocketstars is granted a non-exclusive, royalty-free license for the creator’s content- much like OnlyFans. The policy continues to state it grants each user of the site a nonexclusive, royalty-free license to access creators’ submissions through the site to watch your submissions as permitted through the site.

Both sites states that users will require explicit written consent from creators before sharing their content externally or with third parties. Unfortunately, we are seeing creators on Pocketstar who are also suffering from leaks, copycats, copyright infringement, leaks, and harassment. If this happens, an RM Warner Law OnlyFans Lawyer know how to defend your rights and help you, so if you’re experiencing legal issues on Pocketstars, get in touch with us today.

 

Extortion for Free Content: How Common is it for OnlyFans Content Creators to be Blackmailed?

Despite the taboo nature of sextortion, it is an alarmingly common occurrence- especially if you’re a content creator. One of the most appalling extortion examples that best demonstrates this, is Insider.com’s 2020 report of the time, “an estimated 1.4 to 4 terabytes of pornographic content from… OnlyFans leaked online”.

Unfortunately, the number of sextortion related issues continues to grow at an exponential rate with every year that passes. According to AAG-it.com, the IC3 (the Internet Crime Complaint Center) “received more than 18,000 complaints in 2021 relating to sextortion”, and the FBI issued a national security press release in January of 2023 detailing how they, “received thousands of reports related to… financial sextortion” in the year 2022.

AAG-it.com also revealed that these online blackmail and online extortion attempts have resulted in victims losing “more than $13.6 million”- a statistic that aligns with ICE.gov’s statement explaining how “as many as 79% of predators [now] seek money rather than additional sexual imagery”.

Despite the preventative measures you take to safeguard your content, the possibility of extortion or blackmail will always remain as cybercriminals continue to develop new tools, and your popularity as a content creator continues to grow.

Regardless of whether you’re an OnlyFans creator, Pocketstars creator, or a more traditionally acceptable type of content creator- it is highly recommended that you have an internet lawyer on your team who can double as a blackmail lawyer.

 

Legal Help for an Onlyfans Leak

If you are a victim of an OnlyFans’ leak, get in contact with one of our experienced internet attorneys today. We know how to get content removed from the internet and can help you sue for damages.  Complete our online contact form or call us at 1-866-570-8585 today.

Note: *OnlyFans is a trademark owned by Fenix International Limited, and not affiliated with our firm.