OnlyFans Filter: A New Frontier in School Safety and CIPA Compliance

TikTok, YouTube, Instagram — the list goes on. Every day, K-12 IT departments are contending with an ever-growing number of social media sites, each with its own set of challenges.

However, none are quite as dangerous as OnlyFans. In this blog, we’re exploring what OnlyFans is, why it’s so risky, and what you can do to prevent students from accessing it on school-provided accounts.

What is OnlyFans?

OnlyFans is a social media platform where content creators can earn money from fans who purchase access to their profiles via a subscription fee. In addition to monthly installments and one-time tips, subscribers can also pay for exclusive content, such as live streams or pay-per-view videos.

Although OnlyFans is a popular platform for content creators in various fields — fitness, photography, music, etc. — it’s primarily known as a source of adult entertainment. The majority of OnlyFans creators share sexually explicit content on the app. In fact, founder Tim Stokely and majority owner Leonid Radvinsky both have a history of operating pornographic websites.

According to a BBC report, OnlyFans content skyrocketed during the pandemic. The social media platform has grown nearly tenfold since 2019, now boasting over 120 million registered users.

Due to its adult content, the OnlyFans website is restricted to people 18 or older. It uses two verification measures to confirm users are of legal age:

1. All users must submit a photo of their government-issued identification card.
2. They must also share a selfie photo to verify their identity.

As we all know, minors can easily get around these requirements. Per the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, there have been numerous cases where adolescents have used fake IDs or a relative’s passport to bypass age verification.

The Risk of OnlyFans

While OnlyFans is not inherently dangerous, it can present risks depending on how it is used and accessed — just like any other online platform. You probably don’t know it, but students (and staff) could be accessing OnlyFans using school accounts, the ramifications of which are numerous.

Here are some examples of how the website could be harmful to your school district:

• Exposure to inappropriate content: OnlyFans is known for hosting adult content, including sexually explicit photos and videos. Obviously, students should not be exposed to such material, particularly using school-provided accounts.
• Privacy risks: It’s not uncommon for OnlyFans models to “sext” with their subscribers, which can involve exchanging explicit photos. Also, the lucrative nature of the website may entice students to create their own profiles. In the case of a minor, this would constitute child pornography. Additionally, this content could leak elsewhere online and haunt the student for years to come. It’s also not just students who are using OnlyFans. Teachers and staff have been known to use district accounts to access the platform as well. There’s currently no known, documented case of this happening, but there could be privacy issues with your adult users’ activity on the site as well.
• Safety risks: Students who access OnlyFans content may also expose themselves to sexual exploitation or stalking. Online predators can use the platform to groom potential victims, luring them with promises of bigger payouts. Some may even use explicit photos as blackmail, demanding payouts or convincing kids to meet up in person.
• Compliance: For school districts, allowing students to access OnlyFans is a violation of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Per CIPA, schools must protect minors from inappropriate content, which includes violent, graphic, and sexual material. There are cases where students (as well as staff) are using school provided accounts to access OnlyFans, which is a very clear CIPA violation that could have significant consequences.

If you think these risks sound unlikely, you would be wrong. In 2021, BBC News investigated several related cases. According to their findings:

• Underage content creators and users include victims of prior sexual abuse and those with mental health issues and suicidal thoughts.
• Police forces say children have complained about their images being uploaded to OnlyFans without their consent. One 17-year-old girl reported to police that she was blackmailed into continuing to post nudes on OnlyFans, or the photographs would be shared with her family.
• Per the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there were around a dozen missing kids linked to OnlyFans content in 2019. One year later, those cases tripled.

Why It’s Important to Filter Explicit Content

Platforms like OnlyFans seem to pop up all the time. Across the vast and expansive internet, there’s almost no telling where your students might encounter sexually explicit content and other graphic material. That’s where web content filtering comes into play.

In short, filters block websites that contain inappropriate content. Plus, you can tailor policies to make sure that students are staying on educational content while they’re using school-provided technology. For example, many districts block students from being able to access social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube — at least during the school day.

There are many reasons why it’s important to restrict access to OnlyFans and other platforms like it at school, including:

• Maintaining a safe and secure environment: Districts have a responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment for students. Content filters help prevent students from accessing potentially harmful or explicit material, including adult content found on platforms like OnlyFans.
• Preserving academic focus: Accessing platforms like OnlyFans during school hours distract students from their studies and disrupt the learning environment. Content filters help maintain a focus on academic activities by blocking access to non-educational websites and platforms.
• Compliance with legal and ethical standards: Schools must comply with legal requirements regarding the online safety of students. Implementing a content filter is required for schools, districts, and libraries participating in the E-Rate program. It also demonstrates a commitment to upholding these standards and ensuring that students’ online activities are appropriate and secure.
• Parental and community expectations: Parents and the community expect schools to take measures to protect students from accessing inappropriate content online. Content filters are one way to fulfill these expectations and reassure stakeholders that the school is actively managing online risks.

Blocking and Monitoring OnlyFans use in Your District

ManagedMethods provides two layers of protection for school districts to restrict access to OnlyFans.

The first and most common layer of protection is blocking access to the OnlyFans website using a web content filter. Our Content Filter platform is purpose-built for K-12 schools and will certainly block internet traffic to the site. Content Filter makes it easy to:

• Block access to the OnlyFans website and associated domains using the “Adult” category.
• Use URL filtering to block access to specific URLs associated with OnlyFans, including subdomains and pages within the site.
• Implement keyword filtering to detect and block attempts to access content related to OnlyFans. This includes filtering out searches for “OnlyFans” or related terms, like “OnlyFans models,” or “OnlyFans alternatives.”
• Provide real-time reporting and logging capabilities to track attempts to access OnlyFans and other blocked content, allowing administrators to monitor and enforce content filtering policies effectively.

With thousands of pre-built blocklists, you don’t have to worry about building your own policies completely from scratch. But, as a customizable tool, you have total freedom to tailor rules according to your school district’s needs. For example, YouTube blocking can be managed more granularly based on keywords associated with a particular video, and by specific channels and videos.

Cloud Monitor provides the second layer of visibility and control over which users are using district-provided accounts to access OnlyFans. We’ve done thousands of free cybersecurity and safety audits with school districts over the years. Many of these audits uncover one or more accounts connected to OnlyFans. And, as has been mentioned several times in this article, they’re not always just student accounts.

Cloud Monitor is unique in that it makes it extremely easy to identify these accounts, revoke access, and set up a policy to automatically revoke access every time someone tries to set up an OnlyFans account using their district Google or Microsoft account.

Are you ready to take control of OnlyFans use in your school district? Schedule a demo with our team today to learn more about how ManagedMethods can help!