China Bans OnlyFans

China Bans OnlyFans, Citing “Western Moral Decay”

By Marsh (Edi) Baptise

Beijing, China — In July 2025, China officially banned access to the subscription-based platform OnlyFans, citing the promotion of sexually explicit material and what state officials have described as a growing threat of “Western moral decay.”  It’s unclear whether the decision is driven more by China’s reluctance to see women profit from sexual content or by the reality that men are the primary consumers and financial backers of platforms like OnlyFans—but regardless of motive, the ban marks a decisive step in the broader effort to crack down on pornography.The ban comes amid a broader digital purge that has targeted foreign websites and platforms perceived as undermining China’s cultural values and social order.

OnlyFans, known for allowing creators to monetize adult content directly through subscriber support, has been labeled by Chinese authorities as emblematic of the “spiritual pollution” they have repeatedly vowed to eliminate. The platform had gained limited traction in China due to internet restrictions, but the recent action ensures its complete inaccessibility within the country’s digital borders.

The move aligns with ongoing efforts by the Chinese government to clamp down on pornography, online obscenity, and Western social influences. These efforts include widespread censorship, arrests of individuals producing explicit material for online platforms, and the promotion of state-sanctioned digital environments that prioritize ideological education, family values, and patriotism.

Critics outside China have raised concerns over the implications for freedom of expression and digital autonomy, but the Chinese Communist Party maintains that such measures are necessary to safeguard public morality and national cultural identity. The state has long condemned what it views as the global spread of “corrupt Western values,” with pornography and sex work frequently cited as evidence of cultural decline.

China’s broader campaign against online sexual content includes the blocking of foreign pornographic websites, AI-generated explicit content, and informal sex education initiatives not approved by the state. While OnlyFans is only the latest addition to the growing list of restricted platforms, its banning highlights China’s ongoing resistance to what it considers exploitative or destabilizing elements imported through the global internet.

With this action, China reinforces its digital sovereignty doctrine, using its national firewall to enforce both ideological and behavioral norms—while drawing a clear line between the controlled morality of its domestic internet and what it frames as the unchecked permissiveness of the West.