OnlyFans Creators Between Platform Economy and Sex Work Regulation

Digitalisation rapidly reshapes labour markets and the relationship between those who provide online services and their clients/consumers, having an impact also on commercial sex. This article examines sex work in digital spaces on platforms like OnlyFans and the challenges around protection of content creators working on them. In light of recent legislative developments in the European Union (EU) concerning platform work, the article draws attention to the difficulties of applying Directive 2831/2024/EU to activities involving the creation of digital content and, consequently, of extending its protections to content creators. Drawing on feminist debates about sex work and its digitalisation, the article also considers the impact of various models of sex work regulation adopted by European countries. It highlights how the position of content creators on platforms such as OnlyFans sits at the intersection of the challenges inherent in platform-mediated gig economy work and the impacts of sex work regulation, including the frequent lack of protections.