Whistleblower: Mastercard, Visa Failed to Stop Payments for Child Exploitation Content on OnlyFans

In a shocking revelation, which has left shockwaves within the financial and tech industries, a whistleblower has come forward with allegations that payment behemoths Mastercard and Visa failed to prevent transactions related to child sexual abuse material on the popular content-subscription platform OnlyFans. The explosive claim has reignited debates over the responsibilities of payment processors in combating online exploitation and the challenges of content moderation on adult-oriented platforms.

The allegations first came to light in January 2023 when a senior compliance expert in the credit card and banking industries filed a complaint with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The whistleblower—who wished to remain anonymous—also accused both Mastercard and Visa of having known that their payment networks were being used to process transactions for illegal content on OnlyFans since at least 2021, yet had turned a blind eye to these activities.

In its complaint, it alleged the whistleblower, along with other anti-trafficking experts and even U.S. federal agents, had put Visa and Mastercard on notice of the unlawful content hosted by OnlyFans in a series of calls in 2021 and 2022, saying federal agents had corroborated the existence of child sexual abuse material on the site.

John Doe, an expert in cybersecurity specializing in financial crimes, anonymously weighed in on the gravity of the allegations: “If these claims are substantiated, it would represent a massive failure in due diligence and compliance on the part of two of the world’s largest payment processors. The implications for the financial industry and online content platforms could be far-reaching.”

The whistleblower’s complaint relied heavily on a 2022 study conducted by the Anti-Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative (ATII), a US nonprofit organization. The study had reportedly found a “high volume” of accounts on OnlyFans with “common indicators” of either child sexual abuse material or sex trafficking. The whistleblower alleged they had assisted with this study, which was then shared with both Mastercard and Visa.

Online child protection activist Sarah Cooper says, “These allegations show that there needs to be much stronger oversight and more effective systems put in place to detect and prevent the exploitation of minors on digital platforms. It’s not enough that companies just have policies in place; they need to be actively enforced.”

The complaint accuses Mastercard and Visa of “willfully failing” to maintain effective anti-money laundering programs required by the Bank Secrecity Act, according to Reuters. In continuing to process payments on OnlyFans, the card companies were allegedly “directly handling the proceeds of these illicit transactions,” the whistleblower claimed.

Mastercard and Visa have both come out to strongly deny the allegations. A Mastercard spokesman added, “We have strong governance standards through a comprehensive compliance program and strong internal controls. If illegal activity is identified, we work with partners to act.”

A Visa spokesman struck a similar tone in the steps the company would take to address illegal activity on its network, saying: “We use best-in-class controls to deter, detect and remediate illegal activity. Allowing financial institutions and merchants to remain on Visa’s network with non-compliant policies will have their contracts terminated.”

OnlyFans, the platform at the center of these allegations, has also responded to the claims. In a statement, the company said, “OnlyFans has a zero-tolerance policy for any content related to child exploitation. We work aggressively to target, report, and support the investigations and prosecutions of anyone who attempts to abuse our platform.”

The OnlyFans controversy isn’t new. In 2021, the BBC had reported several cases of explicit videos featuring underage teens on the platform. This put their content moderation practices and age verification systems under greater scrutiny.

According to Dr. Emily Rodriguez, an expert in the field of online child exploitation, platforms like OnlyFans pose unique content moderation challenges because of their business model: “They’ve taken a number of precautionary measures, but the sheer volume that passes through their site on a daily basis—it’s hard to get all kinds of abuse.” To be sure, none of that absolves platforms or payment processors.

The allegations have also drawn attention from lawmakers. In August 2021, a group of 102 members of Congress called for a Justice Department investigation into alleged child sexual abuse material on OnlyFans. It’s unclear what the current status of this request is.

The whistleblower’s complaint reignited discussions about the role of payment processors in fighting online exploitation. In 2020, amid similar allegations, Visa, Mastercard, and Discover blocked customers from using their cards to make purchases on Pornhub, another large adult content website.

Michael Chen, an expert in financial crime, says, “Payment processors are uniquely positioned to detect and prevent illegal activities. They have access to data on transactions and patterns that could show up as potential abuse. The question is whether they’re doing enough with this information to protect vulnerable individuals.”

The case has also drawn attention to larger issues of content moderation and age verification on adult-oriented platforms, with many experts concluding that current systems are inadequate to stop the exploitation of minors.

That’s going to require a multi-stakeholder approach,” said Dr. Amanda Lee, a tech ethicist: “It will require stronger regulations, better age verification technologies, improved content moderation algorithms, and more cooperation between platforms, payment processors, and law enforcement agencies.”

As the investigation continues into these claims, the fallout from the case has already proven to be tremendous. OnlyFans reportedly has beefed up content moderation, and both Mastercard and Visa are now committed to reviewing and beefing up their compliance procedures.

This case could be a landmark and have large-scale consequences for the online content industry, especially if it results in more complex regulation and stronger age verification requirements. It may also serve to bring increasing attention to payment processors and their responsibility in the prevention of illicit online activity.

In the final analysis, allegations against Mastercard and Visa concerning payments for child exploitation content on OnlyFans have brought to light the thorny challenges of fighting online abuse in the digital age. With investigations ongoing and as the industry grapples with these problems, there is every indication that protection of vulnerable people online will involve continuing vigilance, innovation, and cooperation among all sectors.