Two individuals have filed a lawsuit against OnlyFans, claiming they may have unknowingly interacted with fake models on the platform.
In a recent development, a class-action lawsuit has been filed against the parent companies of OnlyFans, Fenix Internet, LLC and Fenix International Limited, alleging deceptive practices related to the use of third-party agents in interactions between creators and fans. The lawsuit, filed by M. Brunner and J. Fry from Illinois, claims that the complexities in accessing the contract between creators and fans on OnlyFans make it difficult for users to fully understand the extent to which third parties are involved in their interactions.
The lawsuit argues that the contract, which acknowledges the potential involvement of third-party firms in customer exchanges, is not easily accessible. It is located on a different webpage than the Terms of Service and requires an additional action to view. This, the lawsuit suggests, is a violation of the promise of "direct" connections and "authentic" relationships on OnlyFans.
Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that OnlyFans allows third parties to send communications on behalf of creators, which is a clear violation of their Terms of Service. It is not common practice for OnlyFans to officially allow third parties to send messages on behalf of creators, and this practice has led to significant legal implications.
News investigations in 2024 uncovered that many creators rely on third parties called chatters or on chatbots to impersonate them during messaging, breaking OnlyFans' explicit terms of service that forbid chatbot use. These revelations prompted the filing of two U.S. federal class-action lawsuits against OnlyFans and the agencies that deploy chatters, alleging the practices are deceptive and defraud consumers by failing to provide the direct personal interaction subscribers expect.
OnlyFans has been reached out for comment regarding the lawsuit, but no official response has been received as of yet. The lawsuit further alleges that the complexity of accessing the contract may be used to hide the extent to which third parties are involved in creator interactions.
This lawsuit highlights ethical and legal risks around subscriber communications on the platform. Many OnlyFans models do not directly interact with their subscribers, a phenomenon widely reported in prominent media outlets. The lawsuit alleges that OnlyFans knowingly facilitates schemes in which fans are duped into paying for personal interactions with creators that are not "authentic" at all.
The lawsuit accuses the parent companies of OnlyFans of furthering a "deception" against OnlyFans' users. It alleges that the contract "obfuscates the role that third parties may play in assisting creators with their content." This lawsuit is a significant development in the ongoing debate about the transparency and ethics of the content-sharing platform.
- The lawsuit against OnlyFans claims that the company's policy of allowing third parties to send messages on behalf of creators violates their Terms of Service.
- Investigations in 2024 revealed that many OnlyFans creators rely on third parties or chatbots to impersonate them during messaging, which is a clear breach of OnlyFans' explicit terms of service.
- The lawsuit suggests that the contract between creators and fans on OnlyFans is not easily accessible, making it difficult for users to fully understand the extent to which third parties are involved in their interactions.
- This lawsuit accuses the parent companies of OnlyFans of furthering a "deception" against OnlyFans' users by obfuscating the role that third parties may play in assisting creators with their content, a practice that could have significant implications for the future of technology and social media, especially in entertainment and pop-culture industries.
