What About the Creators?

Internet pornography platforms receive more monthly visitors than most other entertainment platforms such as Netflix but have been largely excluded from the legal discourse. OnlyFans is the newest phenomenon in this sector. Described as the “Instagram for pornography” it allows its users to post pornographic content and charge subscribers to view it. The platform is a viable source of income for many content creators. The resulting economic dependency combined with the explicit nature of the sold content, the societal stigma and the potential control exercised by the platform makes OnlyFans unique. This article addresses the legal situation that affects content creators who are required to grant OnlyFans a far-reaching, perpetual license. This ostensibly contravenes GDPR principles and could potentially result in the misuse of content. This article will explore whether European copyright and data protection law can prevent such misuse. Furthermore, it will investigate whether the proposed EU Platform Work Directive can improve working conditions for content creators.