Obscenity: OnlyFans content creators based overseas could be breaching Singapore law

Content creators uploading obscene material on the online platform OnlyFans could be breaching laws here even if they are based overseas.

Those who download obscene videos and photos, and share them, also risk getting arrested.

"While the Penal Code generally does not have extra-territorial jurisdiction, a Singaporean or a foreigner who uploaded the material overseas and subsequently enters Singapore could potentially be dealt with by the law," said associate professor Eugene Tan, who teaches at Singapore Management University.

The spotlight was turned on the site here when model Titus Low was accused on Dec 30 of uploading obscene images and videos to his OnlyFans account between April and October last year.

He had also allegedly failed to comply with an order issued to him in October last year which prohibited him from accessing or using his OnlyFans account.

Low, who was granted $5,000 bail and is set to return to court on Jan 20, is believed to be the platform's first content creator in Singapore to be charged with transmitting obscene materials on the site.

Lawyers say content creators uploading obscene material are not the only ones who risk breaking the law. Subscribers who download such material and share them could also be in the crosshairs.

"It does not matter whether the subscriber intended to profit financially from it," added Prof Tan.

Ms Tania Chin, a partner in the criminal litigation team at law firm Withers KhattarWong, said transmitting obscene material electronically in Singapore, and distributing or possessing for the purposes of distributing to a third party, are offences.

Created in 2016, the platform, which is based in London, allows content creators to upload visuals on subjects such as travel, fashion, fitness and coaching.

But some content creators had reportedly uploaded obscene photographs and videos to the site to make money by selling subscription access.

The website charges a monthly subscription fee that ranges from US$4.99 (S$7) to US$49.99, but creators can charge subscribers additional fees for commissioned work sent through private messages.

For hosting the material, OnlyFans takes 20 per cent of all payments.

Content creators have claimed online that on average, they could earn about US$150 a month, with some top creators raking in more than US$100,000 monthly.

Based on online searches, there are over 170 million registered OnlyFans subscribers and over 1.5 million content creators globally. Users must be 18 years or older, according to OnlyFans policy.

As an unregulated site, there is a risk of obscene photos and videos being posted without a subject's consent, lawyers noted.

"Online platforms such as OnlyFans may not monitor explicit content that could have originated from underage users," Ms Chin said.

"It is an offence to profit from the sale of such obscene material, so even if access is based on a subscription model but one makes money from the posting or selling of such material, it would be an offence."

Although the platform had earlier announced it was planning to ban "sexually explicit content", it reversed the decision last August.

Mr Azri Imran Tan, a partner at IRB Law who specialises in criminal practice, said it would be legally possible to ban the site here.

But he added that this could lead to tensions between freedom of expression and the need to protect public morality.

Mr Azri said some may argue that OnlyFans is but a means to express oneself, and should be regarded as possibly even art, but he noted Singapore remains a conservative society.

"I foresee that there may be pushback insofar as netizens may deem any ban on OnlyFans as a form of 'moral policing'," he added.

Prof Tan, a constitutional and administrative law expert, said that in some jurisdictions like Britain and the United States, the production and transmission of obscene material is not illegal.

They are often connected to freedom of speech and expression concerns, he added.

"Singapore takes an almost diametrically opposite view. Freedom of speech and expression does not extend to restrictions Parliament regards as 'necessary or expedient' in the interest of 'public order or morality'," Prof Tan said.

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Celebrities earn millions

Celebrities, especially those with a large following on Instagram, have earned millions monthly from uploading their photos on OnlyFans.

American model Angela Renée White, whose stage name is Blac Chyna, earns US$20 million (S$27.2 million) a month on the site, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP) in September last year.

The 33-year-old, who has 16 million followers on Instagram, frequently posts images and videos to the site, which subscribers can view by paying US$19.99 a month.

Ms White joined OnlyFans in April 2020, and in the same month, posted a video of her feet stomping on a bowl of grapes on Instagram, calling on fans to pay to see more on her OnlyFans page.

Former Disney star Bella Thorne rakes in US$11 million a month on OnlyFans, reported SCMP.

The 24-year-old actress had reportedly earned over US$1 million in the first 24 hours of her joining the platform in August 2020.

Another top earner is rap artist Cardi B, who cashes in about US$9.4 million dollars a month on OnlyFans.

The magazine Rolling Stone reported that Cardi B uses the platform to release behind the scenes content of her music videos.

The Sun US, a news publication in the United States, reported that the 29-year-old charges her subscribers US$4.99 a month, and has become the third highest earner on the site despite only posting six times.