Consequence analysis
We asked our members what their biggest fears are if the new bill passes — and here’s what they said:
That my partner could be prosecuted for pimping just because I do cam shows at home, even though my partner has nothing to do with it.
If we have to hide or obscure our sources of income to avoid being surveilled/evicted/deported and to keep our families/partners/communities from being criminalized, how are we supposed to apply for loans, pay taxes, or buy a house?
Taking away income streams without addressing how people are supposed to afford housing, food, childcare… it only makes life harder and more dangerous for us. And where are the exit services we were promised?
That the bank might shut down my account because I’m selling something “illegal.”
That I risk being evicted because I work from home while also selling/producing porn and cam shows.
More isolation. More fear. You can’t tell anyone what you do. You can’t get help from anyone. You can’t be honest with healthcare providers, social services, your bank, your family, or your kids’ teachers. This puts enormous pressure on our physical and mental health.
What happens if you film content at home while your kids are at school — would they legally be “living in a brothel” or something? This will tear apart more loving families. Stop creating fake reasons to take happy children away from responsible parents.
Our income will decrease so much that we’ll be forced to offer services and fulfill requests we normally wouldn’t agree to.
That the police will gain expanded powers to monitor us, which not only violates our personal privacy but also puts us in direct danger of eviction, deportation, and harassment.
It criminalizes even more parts of society — the person who sells us clothes, makeup, condoms, sex toys, camera stands, video cameras, lighting, green screens, or a webcam, or who in any other way helps us do our job, would be committing a crime.
Large porn production companies will thrive without competition; porn performers will be forced to work under whatever exploitative or dangerous conditions exist on set.
It gives major porn companies (who often have bad labor practices) a monopoly on the market, making it nearly impossible for independent content creators to make a living when we can only produce films without knowing whether anyone will even buy them. It takes a lot of time and energy to make porn films, and that’s why custom films are so helpful — at least then we know we’ll be compensated for the time we spent making the content.
The fact that there are now platforms where we, as online sex workers, can upload our own material and directly earn money from sales is the best thing that’s happened to us! We finally have the power to set our own prices, say no to things we don’t want to do, and control how we’re portrayed and where our films are uploaded. But now we’re apparently not supposed to have that power anymore.
It reinforces a puritanical moral standard in society that restricts people’s sexual freedom.
What does this mean for digital rights, privacy, and safety? Can the police spy on someone if they’re “suspected” of buying/selling porn? What kind of accountability and transparency will exist?
Wanting to imprison people for buying porn is fascist.
There are consequences for artists and people who buy art or hire artists — what counts as “porn” or sexual content? Are boudoir photographers technically selling “custom content”? Or freelance illustrators — will they no longer be allowed to create sexual or erotic content on commission?
That OnlyFans and similar sites are removing the ability for Swedish creators to start accounts or are deleting their accounts altogether.
Is this infringing on freedom of speech? Digital rights?
As someone with a neuropsychiatric diagnosis (I know many of us with NPF diagnoses work in online sex work), I’ll be forced into poorly paid hourly jobs, part-time positions, sick leave, welfare, etc., because I can’t handle a traditional full-time job.
I would be genuinely so, so sad and upset if I could no longer run the business that I truly love. I really feel like I’ve found my thing and want to keep doing this for many, many years.
That we will no longer be allowed to collaborate with other online creators (or even partners if you create porn together?) because it will be considered pimping.
This pushes an already marginalized group of workers even further out of society and forces us to take bigger risks with fewer rights.
A smaller client base means we’re more likely to turn to pimps or “managers” out of desperation.
I worry that people will be forced from relatively “safer” online sex work into in-person or street-based sex work if clients are too scared of the digital footprint of buying online content. Like what happened in the U.S. after FOSTA/SESTA and how the Swedish sex purchase law reduces our ability to screen clients, which forces us into more dangerous situations. Right now, we can leave bad reviews on sites if a client misbehaves — but we won’t be able to do that anymore if those platforms become illegal.
How can they justify this law as protecting vulnerable people when it puts us in extreme vulnerability? I do sex work because I want to and enjoy it. But even if I didn’t want to and felt it was my best option — I’d still be punished by possibly losing my apartment, having my partner (who has nothing to do with it) prosecuted for pimping, or having my children taken away because they “live in a digital brothel.”
