Czech police charge four in OnlyFans human trafficking case
Details of the Human Trafficking Investigation
Overview of the Case
PRAGUE, June 2 (Reuters) - Czech police said on Tuesday they had charged four people and an unnamed legal entity for coercing young women to provide erotic content for accounts on OnlyFans and other social networks.
The human trafficking case focuses on a group that recruited dozens of women just over 18 and, according to police, took advantage of their marginalisation or immaturity and ignorance to provide content without control over its use.
About OnlyFans
OnlyFans is an adults-only site where people can sell access to photographs and videos including sexually explicit content.
Modus Operandi of the Accused
Police said after gaining the women's trust, the accused lured them into creating erotic content and to sign contracts to represent them on social networks, most often OnlyFans.
"The victims usually did not have access to the profiles created with their personal data," police said.
"The accused persons were allegedly using psychological pressure, threats of fines or refusing payments to gradually, and against the victims' free will, demand more explicit... content," police said.
The case involves at least 3.6 million crowns ($172,794) in income, police said.
OnlyFans' Response and Platform Overview
Company Statement
An OnlyFans spokesperson, without commenting on the Czech investigation, said in a statement the company worked closely with law enforcement around the world.
"OnlyFans takes the safety of its users seriously and invests heavily in measures to protect them, including strict onboarding processes, payment controls and ongoing account moderation," the spokesperson said.
Platform Growth and Restrictions
Created in 2016, OnlyFans has hundreds of millions of users, with top earners making millions of dollars a year. The platform is restricted or banned in some countries including Turkey and has been subject to numerous complaints.
Reports and Allegations of Abuse
Reuters Special Report Findings
A Reuters special report in 2024 found more than 120 people had complained to U.S. police agencies that they were featured in the site's sexually explicit content without their consent.
Cases in the United Kingdom
Allegations of abuse have also been documented elsewhere, with the same Reuters report finding at least 17 cases of people complaining to British authorities of nonconsensual porn appearing on OnlyFans.
Additional Information
($1 = 20.8340 Czech crowns)
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Jason Hovet and Andrew Cawthorne)
