OnlyFans content class action overview:
- Who: Five OnlyFans subscribers are suing the platform’s owner, Fenix Internet.
- Why: The plaintiffs say they were duped and their privacy was exposed by professional “chatters” who pretended to be the content creators they were looking at online.
- Where: The OnlyFans content class action lawsuit was filed in a California federal court.
The peer-to-peer sexual content platform OnlyFans has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it knowingly allows professional “chatters” to impersonate content creators on its subscription website.
Five plaintiffs who are identified only by their initials filed the class action complaint against Fenix Internet LLC — the owner of OnlyFans — and others on July 29 in a California federal court, alleging violations of state and federal consumer and privacy laws.
According to the lawsuit, ‘chatters’ deceive OnlyFans users into believing they are directly communicating with the individuals they have paid to connect with, resulting in the sharing of personal information with strangers.
The platform is predominantly known for hosting sexually-oriented content, and users often pay to engage in intimate conversations with models and content creators, the lawsuit says. It argues that, despite OnlyFans’ claims of monitoring platform activities, the platform does not prevent the use of chatters.
Users subjected to ‘systemic deception,’ lawsuit says
The lawsuit alleges that paying users are unknowingly interacting with hired impersonators who persuade them to spend more money.
“This case goes beyond typical romance scams by involving an online platform used to perpetrate a systemic deception that exploits victims’ trust on an unprecedented scale, affecting hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of people simultaneously,” the lawsuit states.
This deception leads to significant breaches of confidentiality and privacy violations, as sensitive information, including photos and videos, may end up in unauthorized hands.
For example, plaintiff B.L., from Tennessee, says he spent up to $25,000 on the platform over four years. Another plaintiff, N.Z., from California, said they shared photos, videos, and personal information with creators, unaware that the information was being disclosed to agents.
OnlyFans aware of the scheme, lawsuit says
The plaintiffs claim that the impersonators, referred to as “chatters,” are employed by management agencies operating OnlyFans accounts, and receive training and scripts. They say OnlyFans is well aware of the chatters.
“OnlyFans knows about the agencies perpetrating the Chatter Scams; indeed, it has co-hosted events with at least one agency named as a defendant in this Complaint,” the lawsuit says.
Despite being aware of the allegedly illegal practices, OnlyFans allegedly takes no action because it profits from a 20% cut of all creator earnings on the platform, the lawsuit states. In 2021, the platform generated approximately $2 billion in revenue, the plaintiffs say.
As a result, the plaintiffs seek to represent a nationwide class of OnlyFans users who had a fan account on OnlyFans and paid premium content fees to any creator who was represented by one of the defendant agencies that used chatters to communicate with the fans.
They are suing for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, the federal Video Privacy Protection Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act, and California’s false advertising and unfair competition laws, along with claims of breach of contract and fraud.
Meanwhile, Fenix Internet LLC was last year hit with a class action lawsuit alleging it engages in an unlawful OnlyFans auto-renew subscription scheme that is difficult for consumers to cancel.
What do you think of the allegations in this OnlyFans content class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by Christopher Pitoun, Robert B. Carey and Michella A. Kras of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.
The OnlyFans content class action lawsuit is N.Z. et al. v. Fenix International Ltd., Case No. 8:24-cv-01655, for the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
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