Turkey bans OnlyFans following court order

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The popular adult content platform OnlyFans has been banned in Turkey after a ruling by İstanbul's 1st Penal Judgeship of Peace.

The court decision, issued on June 7, ordered the blocking of access to the website, which operates on a subscription-based model and caters to adult audiences, the Freedom of Expression Association announced yesterday.

Prior to the access ban, OnlyFans had faced accusations of "obscenity" and "immorality" targeting both its content and user base. These accusations surrounding the platform's content prompted a widespread Twitter campaign earlier in the week with the hashtag #OnlyFansKapatılsın (Close OnlyFans).

In addition to the voices calling for the ban, there were also individuals who opposed the decision, with some even expressing their dissent by opening OnlyFans accounts as a form of protest

Turkey has been imposing restrictions on numerous websites producing adult content, with thousands of them currently banned. These restrictions were initiated following a legislative change in 2007, aimed at regulating online content.

Freedom House, a US-based think tank, in the 2022 edition of its global online freedom report, categorized Turkey as "very poor" in terms of content blocking measures. According to the Freedom of Expression Association, by the end of 2021, the country had blocked over 467,000 URL addresses, encompassing a range of websites, including thousands that feature adult content. (TY/VK)