Don't send nudes: Sweden bans buying online sexual services
The Swedish parliament has voted through a new law criminalising the purchase of custom-made porn videos via sites such as OnlyFans.
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Under the updated prostitution law, users can still view and purchase pre-made videos and material, but it will be illegal for someone to request and pay for someone to do a specific act.
"This is a new form of sex purchases and it is high time that we modernise the Sex Purchase Act, and that we also include purchases that take place remotely on digital platforms such as OnlyFans," Teresa Carvalho, a Social Democrat lawmaker, told broadcaster TV4.
Sweden's law on prostitution bans only the buying, not the selling, of sex.
The bill had widespread support in Sweden's parliament, but it was criticised by some of those making a living by producing content for OnlyFans, saying it will hurt their income.
"It feels like the politicians don't really understand what we work with digitally or actually do," one OnlyFans creator, Sanna Zentio, told TV4 in March.
"Many of us are working very independently and safely," she said.
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Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer argued that the amended law was a natural extension of Sweden's prostitution regulations.
"Basically, the idea is that anyone who buys sexual acts performed remotely should be penalised in the same way as those who buy sexual acts involving physical contact," Strommer told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper.
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