WASHINGTON, DC (June 9, 2026) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) warns that subscription pornography sites like OnlyFans are becoming the new business model for sex traffickers, and that State Attorneys General should investigate OnlyFans.
Stories of trafficking and abuse continue to pile up. In what was originally believed to be an “out-of-control house party” in a quiet residential neighborhood in Washington State, police opened a human trafficking investigation. According to a recent news report, “court documents allege several women were recruited to create adult content for sites like OnlyFans and Chaturbate with promises of thousands of dollars in payouts every month, but they told detectives they were locked out of their accounts and couldn’t access the money they made. The victims also allege the suspects forced them to stay online chatting with ‘fans’ for at least eight hours every day, plus several more hours of recording videos. When they pushed back against the demands of the work, they say the suspects threatened, beat and restrained them.”
In 2024, Reuters identified 128 cases in which adults complained that sexual content featuring them had been posted to OnlyFans without their consent between January 2019 and November 2023.
“When an out-of-control house party turns into allegations of human trafficking on OnlyFans, there must be a broader investigation, and we urge the Washington State Attorney General to investigate. This also points to a larger trend we’re seeing that subscription pornography sites are becoming the new business model for sex traffickers. All state Attorneys General should be alert to this potentially happening in their states,” said Haley McNamara, Executive Director and Chief Strategy Officer, National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“OnlyFans has portrayed itself as a ‘safe’ way to make money quickly, but the reality is that creators may be victims of sex trafficking. A site that is built upon promoting sexual exploitation is inherently going to become a hotbed of criminal activity. Even OnlyFans creators report facing serious harms, including doxxing, stalking, rape, abuse, and physical threats from subscribers and traffickers/pimps.”
OnlyFans was identified by 71% of sexually explicit content creators as the top platform they use to sell their material.
OnlyFans has been on NCOSE’s Dirty Dozen List of mainstream contributors to sexual exploitation.
About National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE)
Founded in 1962, the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national non-profit organization exposing the links between all forms of sexual exploitation such as child sexual abuse, prostitution, sex trafficking and the public health harms of pornography.
To arrange an interview with NCOSE, please contact press@ncose.com.
