Breaking news: man is shocked to learn that paying a small monthly fee doesn’t unlock everything on an OnlyFans page forever. There’s a new class-action lawsuit against OnlyFans out in the world, this time accusing OnlyFans of “bait-and-switch” subscription practices. Let’s be real, this is not so much a scandal as it is a basic misunderstanding of how capitalism works. I get it, I too didn’t realize I had to buy into the fancy Disney+ subscription when my niece wanted to watch Inside Out 2 the minute it was available for streaming. …ok, it wasn’t my niece, it was me, and I watch that movie no less than once a week. Worth the subscription upgrade, friends.
The lawsuit was filed by a California subscriber as a proposed class action, and it claims that subscribers were misled into believing subscriptions meant they’d have “full access” to everything a creator had to offer. The plaintiff alleges that creators post teasers, then charge extra for PPV messages, custom content, and have the audacity to ask for tips. As bogus as it sounds, they may actually have a case because since they filed in California? They’ve got the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and the Federal Trade Commission Act (the one that guards against misleading advertising claims) backing them up. The plaintiff says that he was expecting exclusive content and personal interaction, not constant upsell messages. I guess he didn’t get the memo that this is how every platform works, right down to Patreon and DoorDash.
To go ahead and spell out the quiet part, OnlyFans is a marketplace, not a Netflix experience. The business model is based on subscription fees, which are more of an entry fee than they are an all-inclusive pass on a naughty resort. PPV, tips, custom content, those things are all additional revenue layers that creators rely on to hit their financial goals. How many times have you downloaded a free-app, only to find out that in-app purchases are heavily pushed? Not a person reading this has purchased concert tickets, then been flummoxed that you have to pay for merch at the merch table, nor have any of us ever questioned a bartender charging us more for the top-shelf stuff. OnlyFans doesn’t sell “unlimited access” to creators. Creators sell temptation, and there are plenty of people willing to pay more money to give in to said temptations. If consumers want to avoid paying more after a subscription fee, they can easily solve that problem by subscribing to free OnlyFans pages.
I really have to wonder if the plaintiff in this case has just… never heard of marketing. Upselling is a part of the gig, no matter what’s being bought and sold. You give the customer a taste, and then sell them on the rest. OnlyFans creators frequently keep their subscription fees low (between $5 – $15 per month for access), and the platform takes a 20% cut from anything they make. PPV content and customs are frequently how OnlyFans creators pay rent and stock the fridge. Creators are independent business owners. They’re not employees, and they’re certainly not vending machines. If you don’t like spending more money for more content, then don’t! Nobody’s tricking you, you’re just being marketed to.
However, as with so many lawsuits, there are some hefty implications here for OnlyFans creators, depending on which way the cookie crumbles. If it succeeds or scares platforms, it could pressure creators into over-disclosure, or sanitizing their marketing language. They could face serious risks on their creator autonomy, and be subject to even more platform rules in order to make sure they’re “in compliance.” The big fear here is that creators will get punished because some dude in California didn’t read, and didn’t like that he had to pay more for exclusive content. To zoom out even further… this is a case of consumer protection laws colliding with adult platforms, and sex work always goes under the microscope before anything else.
So many subscribers understand exactly how this works, then still get mad when they have to pay more money for the fantasy to seem a little more real. This isn’t confusion, it’s entitlement, and it’s important to label it as such. OnlyFans creators are under no obligation to give an unlimited sense of intimacy for $9.99/month. This isn’t fraud, it’s marketing. If buyers want a flat-fee with no upsells or flirtation, then they’re on the wrong website. OnlyFans creators are running businesses, and being in any business— even vanilla business— involves tempting the client base to spend more.
