A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
OnlyFans and Deep Fake Porn – Can We Accept the Former but Condemn the Latter?
Authors: Räsänen, Joona
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Publication year: 2026
Journal: The new bioethics
ISSN: 2050-2877
eISSN: 2050-2885
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/20502877.2025.2610910
Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access
Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1080/20502877.2025.2610910
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/515625628
Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY
Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF
Many people think that producing online pornography, such as creating sexual content at OnlyFans, is permissible. Many of the same people also think that creating deepfake pornography without or against the consent of the person is wrong. I argue that accepting online sex work is inconsistent with judging pornographic deepfakes as worse than non-pornographic deepfakes. This claim resembles similarity with a broader problem in sexual ethics raised by David Benatar. I apply Benatar’s argument in the context of online sexual activities to highlight the ethical issues recent technological developments raise. I do this neither as a case against the permissibility of online sex work nor as a defense of pornographic deep fakes. The purpose is to point out the inconsistency. One could avoid the problem by extending or limiting the range of permissible sexual practices online. But if I am right, we cannot both accept OnlyFans and condemn non-consensual pornographic deep fakes.
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Funding information in the publication:
European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions grant agreement No. 101081293.