OnlyFans to require criminal background checks for U.S. users

Adult platform OnlyFans will launch criminal background checks for US creators, its CEO Kelly Blair recently shared on LinkedIn. However, the AI-powered screener has proven controversial.

Creators who want to upload to OnlyFans must provide several forms of personal identification in advance, including government ID and banking information, to be able to post on the site. Now, artists in the US must also undergo a criminal background check through screening provider Checker.

“Checker, Inc. helps OnlyFans prevent people who have criminal convictions from signing up as creators on OnlyFans, which could impact the safety of our community,” Blair posted on LinkedIn.

On its website, Checker states that 99 percent of its background checks are automated with human quality assurance after data retrieval.

The screening service, which has also been used by “gig economy” companies Uber and DoorDash, has been the subject of dozens of lawsuits between 2015 and 2020, according to an archived 2020 Protocol article. These lawsuits were filed under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which regulates background checks (and credit reports), and alleged that the checker made mistakes such as misreporting crimes and flagging criminal activity that was too old to report according to the FCRA.

In 2022, Checkr was named in another lawsuit, claiming it and Uber failed to properly screen drivers who were using stolen identities. In 2023, another lawsuit emerged, claiming that Checker’s “quick investigation” had failed to uncover the DoorDash driver’s criminal history.

OnlyFans and Checker have not responded to Mashable’s request for comment.

Last month, Pornhub also announced it would institute criminal background checks for current and new content partners (not studios, individual creators).

Both OnlyFans and Pornhub’s Blair said the move was to increase security on their platforms. This comes at a time when the porn industry is facing increasing legislative scrutiny in the US and abroad, with age-verification laws generally requiring stronger age checks to keep minors off their platforms (despite studies showing that age verification does not work).