AMSTERDAM — The European Sex Workers’ Rights Alliance (ESWA) has launched a campaign against a Swedish government proposal to expand current laws against purchasing sexual services to apply to acts performed remotely by streamers and custom content creators.
As XBIZ reported last month, current Swedish law criminalizes purchasing or procuring in-person sexual services but does not criminalize sex workers who provide such services. This approach is commonly referred to as the “Nordic model.” Under the new proposal, anyone who pays someone to perform a sexual act online, without actual physical contact, would be subject to the same criminal liability as those who hire in-person sex workers.
The proposal also includes liability for “procuring” such services, which could lead to enforcement against fan and webcam platforms, or conceivably even against creators who collaborate together.
Swedish creators have expressed concern that, under the proposed law, OnlyFans’ and other creator platforms’ terms of service could preclude Swedish creators from using the site — and that the law could even criminalize their personal lives, since living with a partner or receiving support could now be considered “pimping.”
The ESWA, a sex worker-led network representing more than 100 organizations in 30 countries across Europe and Central Asia, told XBIZ that it has responded to a plea for support from sex workers’ advocacy group Red Umbrella Sweden by launching a public sign-on statement urging the Swedish government to reject this proposal.
“This proposal represents a regressive and dangerous step that threatens the human rights, privacy, safety and livelihoods of sex workers and digital creators in Sweden and beyond,” the ESWA statement reads. “Websites and platforms hosting or facilitating consensual digital sex work could be prosecuted for ‘digital pimping’ creating a chilling effect that may lead to mass deplatforming of sex workers.”
“Digital labour is not a threat,” the statement adds.
An OnlyFans media rep told XBIZ, “OnlyFans has reached out to the Swedish government offering to discuss the issue and the measures we have in place to protect our users, although we have had no response to date.”
The rep added that OnlyFans provides “a safe, verified, moderated alternative to exploitative environments.”
The ESWA is urging anyone who supports Swedish sex workers to add their name to the open letter.