How Sweden's new 'OnlyFans law' bans procuring custom-made online porn
Sweden has approved a law to criminalise buying sex online – including personalised digital content, like that offered on sites such as OnlyFans. Here's what it means.
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How does Swedish sex work law differ from elsewhere?
Since 1999, Swedish laws around sex work criminalise the buyer of sex rather than the seller, as part of what is known as the Nordic Model. It also criminalises third parties, for example people who own or rent the buildings where sex work takes place or people who are involved with the administrative side of sex work.
It's legal to sell sex, although the definition of what exactly counts as sex in this context hasn't always been clear.
The idea behind the law is that sellers of sex (usually but not always women) should not be punished, as they may be selling sex as a result of exploitation or trafficking, while the buyers of sex (usually but not always men), are the real perpetrators.
What's changing?
Due to the rise of the internet, sex no longer just happens out in the real world, but also online. While much of this is in the form of porn videos, sites like OnlyFans allow buyers to specially order certain types of sexual content, for example paying a sex worker to carry out a specific act.
Under the new law, this is considered as equivalent to paying someone for sex offline.
Specifically, it will no longer be legal to pay for specific content, in the style of "I want you to do X with Y", but Swedes will still be allowed to subscribe to sex workers' content, as long as their videos or messages are not tailored to a particular person.
What are the arguments against the law?
Some of the most outspoken critics are sex workers themselves, including OnlyFans creator and law student Cara, who told Dagens Nyheter (DN) that the new law could force her to leave Sweden.
"When I understood that no one was going to vote against this proposal I just went home in a panic, threw myself onto the sofa and cried," she told DN. "It was the scariest and most earth-shattering thing that has happened in my life. And no one has asked us what we think."
She is concerned that her partner could be convicted of enabling prostitution if she works from their shared home – a crime with a sentence of up to ten years in prison.
She also argued that purchasing specific content from someone online can't be compared to paying for sex offline.
"When I have a livestream there's usually an average of two or three thousand viewers. Does that mean I'm having sex with thousands of people? No, I'm not, I'm sitting in front of a camera and a mic."
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What about those in favour?
DN also spoke to a former sex worker and OnlyFans creator, Samuel, who welcomed the law change. He told the newspaper that years of what he called "destructive sex" began after he was raped by an older man as a teenager.
"I learned early on that my boundaries are not worth respect. That my body exists to please others."
He believes it's only right that the person on the other side of the screen could face prison in the future.
"Buying sex is buying sex no matter which arena it takes place in. You pay for something that the person would not have done voluntarily. There are the same risks for exploitation, the same power imbalance."
Other advocates of the new law argue that it makes Swedish rules around sex work clear and consistent. An act which would be illegal in the physical world is currently legal in the digital world, and it also prevents digital sex work from being a gateway to real-life prostitution, like it was for Samuel.
"It's a digitalised form of prostitution, where the boundary between pornography and human trafficking has been erased, while exploitation and abuse have been brought in," Social Democrat MP Sanna Backeskog argued in parliament as the law was being debated.
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What could happen if you buy sex online?
As the purchase of sex online will now be considered equivalent to the purchase of sex offline, you would risk the same sentence as you would for buying sex under current law. This means a prison sentence of up to a year.
Won't it be difficult to police?
Perhaps. Liberal MP Martin Melin, who is a former police officer, brought this up during the debate in parliament.
"I can see a challenge for police when it comes to identifying these crimes as well as proving them. I'm struggling somewhat to see how it will work, but that's something for police and prosecutors to think about in the future. All I can say is that it will be a challenge," he said.
When will the law come into force?
The law has been approved by the Swedish parliament and will come into force on July 1st, 2025.
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