LOS ANGELES — Centro University (CentroU) is noting the results of a recent internal study that sought to quantify the cost to sex workers of censorship by platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
"The CentroU study estimates that account closures cost independent adult content creators $259 million globally in 2020, and that a sex worker whose Twitter or Instagram account was shutdown experienced an average loss of $30,350," noted a rep.
"About half (46%) of the adult influencers surveyed by CentroU had had one or more of their Twitter or Instagram accounts shut down in the past year. And nearly one in 10 (8.7%) suffered the closure of both," the rep continued. "In most cases, the influencers say they could not identify where they’d violated the terms of service, and were given no opportunity to correct or appeal."
By speaking with adult influencers and "incorporating broader internal metrics on fan retention, lifetime value and social acquisition," the study was able to predict a 60% decline in income of an adult influencer in the months following an account closure.
Further, the study found it took at least 36 months, on average, for a sex worker to recover from the loss of income from one banned account; recovery rates vary depending on the size of the social following, name recognition and "the existence of parallel communities on other platforms."
"By applying this model industrywide, and factoring in related social risks like shadowbans and temporary lockouts, the study estimates that social media censorship costs sex workers nearly $260 million dollars a year — and likely much more," said the rep.
FanCentro VP Kat Revenga noted that "social media censorship isn’t some theoretical issue for adult influencers, it robs them of huge amounts of income."
"The majority of adult influencers are small business owners who use the income to pay rent and put food on the table, and the arbitrary closure of an account can be devastating, depriving them of tens of thousands of dollars," she said.
"These platforms need to realize that an adult influencer who loses their account suffers years of financial damage,” Revenga continued. “We were conservative in our estimates, looking only at the effect on one platform and anticipating fairly steady regrowth. In reality, many sex workers struggle to rebuild their audiences after a ban, and many give up entirely rather than risk a future de-platforming."
"Social media has enabled a new generation of independent adult influencers to thrive, and to own what they produce, but the true power rests with the social media companies," she concluded. "Their arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement is costing an already marginalized population hundreds of millions of dollars a year."
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