Swedish government suggests banning the buying of online pornography

[Raze]

Studies found countries that loosened porn restriction saw a decrease in sex crimes. Banning it is a mistake unless a alternative is set up to deal with said crimes.

[Schizophonia]

@Princess Arabia 

When is your tour in France btw? 🐋

 

Jk.

[Schizophonia]

50 minutes ago, Raze said:

Studies found countries that loosened porn restriction saw a decrease in sex crimes. Banning it is a mistake unless a alternative is set up to deal with said crimes.

Countries that ban pornography are mostly religious countries, most of which are poorer and more "low-conscious" than the West. There's a big bias here.

Pakistan is poorer and more violent than France, that doesn't mean that Pakistan should do everything like France.

[Sugarcoat]

2 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

When people are told what to do all the time, and not allowed to err on their own to see what they're doing wrong for themselves on their own, how their decisions are ruining their lives, they will lose the ability to decide for themselves what they should give up, things that are bad for them and why. Just telling people to stop eating junk food because it's bad for you isn't enough, it is not until they're seeing the effects of the junk food that they'll really understand what that means and how badly it's affecting their lives. They see first hand what it can do. Keep telling people what to do and not do without letting them have a first hand experience of things doesn't do much good in the sense of understanding why something is bad for them and will only make them more curious about the thing and indulge more. Of course this doesn't go for murder, theft and laws like that that are obviously criminal. 

Yea I think everyone has the right to be so called “unhealthy” and it’s up for them to fix that. It’s similar to how I don’t think we should ban unhealthy food but I still don’t think it’s a good thing. As a comparison to porn (it’s not always bad but it can be used unhealthily). Society should provide help for people who want to stop those unhealthy habits, and society shouldn’t promote them , that’s society’s job imo

[Sugarcoat]

2 hours ago, Raze said:

Studies found countries that loosened porn restriction saw a decrease in sex crimes. Banning it is a mistake unless an alternative is set up to deal with said crimes.

I’ve never really heard of it being a restriction on porn in the first place (except for maybe North Korea or something), so how come they were able to compare before and after ?

[Sugarcoat]

5 hours ago, Schizophonia said:

Yep.

I have a theory that everything that existed before the Neolithic period (coming and going, natural food, sex, sports, etc.) should basically not be controlled, and everything that follows (drugs, the internet, the market, etc.) should be controlled.
Just an idea which bloomed in my mind.
 

Understood, as you would say  

I don’t think internet in general should be controlled except for the basic things like banning child porn etc 

[samijiben]

@Schizophonia

9 hours ago, Schizophonia said:

1)Because it’s easy pleasure.

2) Because it potentially disrupts your view of sexuality.

 

3)Because depending on what you look at, it enriches your self-concept.

 

1) This point, I can get behind, especially if porn is being used to escape the realities of life (whatever the f***** that means..)

2) The key word is potentially. What is the "right View" of sexuality? Surely this concept must exist in your mind, since you are talking about the possibility of it being disrupted. What is being disrupted: what is the healthy, right View of sexuality?

3) But so does fkn everything in this universe...! WHy single out Pornography? The enrichment of the self-concept is so pervasive. If you were to label it as bad and unhealthy, even going to a cave as a monk would not save you. Everything you do is that!

(not my intention to start a debate, just curious bc porn seems to be particularly controversial issue here)

[Sucuk Ekmek]

20 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

Not necessarily and depends on the woman and the service. I have reservations about it because it's way more of an audience and most will be unknown to you. 

Of course it  depends on your situation. If you're not living in a first-world country, for most young workers out there, online is the way to go.

20 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

Not necessarily the case and depends on what she's doing and if she really enjoys it or not. It can be very mentally demanding dealing with strange horny men who has nothing to lose but a few dollars or who need not show their real identity and personal info. 

I never seen one with such life purporse.

 

20 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

Another assumption. If a woman is offered more $ to meet up for real sex that takes away time and energy that she could use for the same amount of time online without having to do that. Real sex has to be done in person and even if the act is only a half hr, the whole process can take 2hrs with transport and other miscellaneous things involved. Plus it's more tiring and the next day could be a waste because of it so 48hrs lost for half hr worth of work and many men are willing to pay the same amount for online services. Many women understand that the more the man wants from you is the less he's willing to pay so it's not necessarily more profitable overall.

It’s not always about the money—real sex offers a chance to build a meaningful network, if you know how to filter out average clients.

Older gen. workers often had doctors, lawyers, accountants, and others in their circle. There was a real social aspect to it, even if it was rooted in mutual benefit. I’m talking about a small percentage of workers who actually built their networks— to me, this also seem like a viable way which I suppose more beneficial for the worker.

I know I am only good as my presuppositions.

20 hours ago, Princess Arabia said:

 

Ask me how I know it.

Perhaps another time Princess.

Edited yesterday at 07:02 PM by Sucuk Ekmek

[Basman]

I couldn't find any corroborating sources in English but it is true that there is proposed legislation that buying porn in Sweden to be legally equated to hiring an escort, which is illegal in Sweden.

https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/udland/debatten-raser-i-sverige-efter-regering-overvejer-goere-koeb-paa-onlyfans-forbudt

Quote

(GT from Danish)

Debate rages in Sweden after government considers banning purchases on OnlyFans

The Swedish government believes that OnlyFans, which is popular for selling porn videos, should be equated with prostitution.

(The Swedish government justifies the proposal, among other things, by saying that the Swedish police believe that platforms like OnlyFans lead children and young people into prostitution.)

It is illegal to buy sex in Sweden. But now the Swedish government is proposing that from the summer the ban be extended to also apply if you buy sex videos online. This means that in the future it could be banned and end in prison if you buy access to a pornographic video on sites like OnlyFans. Here you can post videos and demand payment for others to have access to watch them. These could be videos of you having sex or masturbating, for example. - Sexual acts for payment are increasingly being carried out on the internet, and the police say that platforms like OnlyFans are leading to children and young people gradually being drawn into prostitution, writes the Swedish government, among other things. DR has tried to get a comment from OnlyFans, but the company has not returned the inquiry.

Organization supports proposal

Several organizations that help women out of prostitution and human trafficking have praised the proposal.

- We think that the bill is an absolutely important step in the right direction. We believe that many have had the perception that digital violence is not as serious as offline violence, says Megan Donevan, head of research at the organization Talita, to TV4.

She says that Talita's research shows that many of those who sell sex online have themselves experienced sexual abuse as children, and that several already have experience with physical prostitution.

- Reports clearly show that these are very vulnerable children who do not get the help and support they need, and subsequently end up continuing to be exploited, says Meghan Donevan.

OnlyFans publishers: The government doesn't understand us

Several of those who have profiles on OnlyFans, on the other hand, are completely against the government's plans.

- I was very shocked and worried at first. It feels like the politicians don't really understand what we work with digitally and actually do.

- Many of us work independently, safely and legally. This proposal risks hitting hard those who have opted out of the traditional sex industry for a safer and more controlled environment, says Sanne Zentio, who creates content for OnlyFans, to TV4.

Cina Pödenphant makes porn on OnlyFans. She doesn't understand why the government would ban what she calls her workplace.

- It's my safe place. I can do my work without meeting people, she tells SVT.

She says she pays taxes and VAT, and that she thrives on OnlyFans.

Grown strongly during the corona pandemic

OnlyFans was started back in 2016 and grew rapidly during the pandemic. According to Business Insider, there are over four million people publishing content on OnlyFans and 300 million fans following them. 80 percent of the revenue goes to the person behind the video, while 20 percent goes to the company behind OnlyFans.

The platform has previously been criticized for minors publishing pornographic content and for the platform being used for revenge porn.

OnlyFans does not disclose the gender distribution among those who upload videos on their platform. However, it is estimated that around 84 percent of them are women.

Here's the actual proposed bill (in Swedish): https://www.regeringen.se/contentassets/ff14c4cee77548e3bf970bae5cfb84e0/skarpt-syn-pa-sexuella-krankningar-bedragerier-mot-aldre-och-brott-med-kon-som-hatbrottsmotiv-prop.-202425124.pdf

Quote

(GT from Swedish of the main content blurb of the bill)

Main content of the bill
In the bill, the government proposes several legislative amendments aimed at strengthening criminal protection against sexual abuse, fraud
against the elderly and crimes with gender as a hate crime motive. The proposals include the following.

• Anyone who engages in sexual intercourse or another sexual act with a child under 18 years of age and improperly exploits the fact that the child, due to, for example, mental illness, disability or the perpetrator's authority has a reduced ability to protect his or her sexual integrity, shall be able to be convicted of rape of a child and sexual abuse of a child.
• The criminal term purchase of a sexual service is changed to purchase of a sexual act, and the punishable area for that crime and for procuring is expanded to also include acts carried out remotely, i.e. without physical contact.
• Gender is added to the provision concerning increased penalties for crimes committed with hate crime motives.
• More cases of fraud are to be assessed as serious crimes and give a harsher punishment, by taking into account in particular whether the perpetrator has recklessly exploited the victim's defenseless or vulnerable position or whether the act has been part of a crime committed in an organized or systematic manner.

The amendments to the law are proposed to enter into force on 1 July 2025.

 

[Basman]

There's a certain irony to wanting to ban Only Fans effectively when the platform gives sex workers greater control over the means of production. But I guess Sweden doesn't want sex work to be a thing at all.

Quote

The Swedish Government believes that women selling "sexual services" to men constitutes a form of violence against women which should be eliminated by reducing demand.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Sweden

The more prudent question is if sexual services is a form of violence against women or just in general?

Edited 4 hours ago by Basman