PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: The purchase of sex acts online has been banned in Sweden, leading to sites like OnlyFans being essentially outlawed.
👥 Who’s Involved: Swedish parliament, OnlyFans, Social Democrat lawmaker Teresa Carvahlo, Minister for Gender Equality Nina Larsson.
📍 Where & When: Sweden, the Swedish parliament passed the legislation on May 20.
💬 Key Quote: The online sex industry “serves as a gateway for young girls from the digital world to physical prostitution.” — Minister for Gender Equality Nina Larsson.
⚠️ Impact: The law cripples sites like OnlyFans in Sweden and could see those who try to purchase sex acts online be sentenced to a year in prison.
IN FULL:
Sweden, once synonymous with leftist progressivism, has banned the sale of sexual acts online, essentially outlawing the popular pornography website OnlyFans. Swedish lawmakers voted on May 20 to make it illegal to purchase sexual acts remotely online, which will affect webcam pornography sites as well as OnlyFans.
The law prohibits people from purchasing sex acts online and also makes it illegal for anyone to promote or financially exploit someone to perform sexual acts as well.
“This is a new form of sex purchase and it is high time that we modernize the Sex Purchase Act, and that we also include purchases that take place remotely on digital platforms such as Onlyfans,” Social Democrat lawmaker Teresa Carvahlo said following the bill’s passing.
Those found to violate the law could face up to a year in prison if found guilty, and the new rules are set to come into force on July 1 of this year. Minister for Gender Equality Nina Larsson argued that the online prostitution “serves as a gateway for young girls from the digital world to physical prostitution.”
OnlyFans has had legal troubles in other European countries, including the United Kingdom, where it was fined $1 million. The fine stemmed from the site refusing to provide information on how it accesses the ages of those using it.
OnlyFans has been accused of allowing children to access pornography and failing to provide adequate age verification measures. Some have also found the site has hosted child pornography at times, though it has removed offending material when alerted.
Sweden’s new law, which is an extension of the country’s strict anti-prostitution laws, comes as several states in America have also enacted their own laws to keep children away from pornography by demanding age verification of users. As a result of the laws, major websites like Pornhub have shut down some of their operations.