Overview
- A BBC current affairs investigation that aired this week says it interviewed more than 60 creators and ran a survey finding 83% were pressured to make more explicit content and 60% were threatened or blackmailed when they tried to leave.
- Creators told the BBC that some managers locked them out of their accounts, diverted payments and took large portions of earnings with contracts seen by reporters showing shares as high as 50% to 70% and one case claiming 100%.
- Journalists infiltrated a private managers’ forum, OFM Empire, and recorded members advising intimidation and violence while some creators described real‑world attacks and property damage they link to agencies.
- Legal and anti‑slavery experts who appear in the film say the patterns amount to coercion and could meet the legal tests for trafficking or modern slavery, while OnlyFans has denied formal ties to third‑party managers and stressed its safety controls.
- MPs, campaigners and rights groups are calling for regulatory scrutiny, possible select‑committee hearings and new safeguards for creators as enforcement is complicated by stigma, cross‑platform operations and jurisdictional gaps.