OnlyFans Faces Class Action Over Automatic Subscription Renewals

A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that content creation platform OnlyFans has been unlawfully enrolling consumers in automatically renewing subscriptions.

The 52-page complaint claims that when a consumer signs up for an OnlyFans subscription, they are automatically placed into a program that renews the subscription each month “unless and until” they actively cancel it.

The lawsuit asserts that OnlyFans.com operator Fenix Internet LLC has violated California’s Automatic Renewal Law by failing to provide subscription offer terms both before and after purchase in a clear, conspicuous manner near the sign-up button. Additionally, the case claims that the platform’s cancellation process is overly complicated, lacking a one-step “prominently located” cancellation button or link and an “immediately accessible” pre-written cancellation email.

“Instead, the OnlyFans Subscription cancellation process is a multi-step and counter-intuitive procedure that results in additional, unwanted, and unauthorized charges to consumers’ billing information by Defendant,” the filing contends.

The complaint further alleges that users are not required to read or affirmatively agree to OnlyFans’ terms of service during account creation. According to the suit, the sign-up page employs “dark patterns” designed to distract consumers from these terms.

According to the lawsuit, OnlyFans’ noncompliance with California’s Automatic Renewal Law has generated “exorbitant revenues” for the company. As of November 2021, the platform reportedly had over 187 million users, with total user spending reaching $4.8 billion and net revenue surpassing $932 million.

“Fenix International, as well as its owner Leonid Radvinsky, … obtains these eye-popping revenues through Defendant’s unlawful charging of consumer billing information,” the suit states.

In essence, the lawsuit claims OnlyFans repeatedly charged users without obtaining their affirmative consent, violating California law. As a result, subscriptions under the automatic renewal service are considered “unconditional gifts.”

“Plaintiffs and the Class would not have purchased the OnlyFans Subscription had they been provided with the [Automatic Renewal Law-mandated] pre- and post-purchase disclosures and information,” the complaint concludes.

The class action seeks to include:

“All individuals in California who subscribed to any OnlyFans Subscription within the applicable statute of limitations prior to the filing of this complaint, and who were subsequently charged an automatic renewal fee. And all individuals in California whose billing information was charged additional, unwanted payments due to Defendant’s noncompliant OnlyFans Subscription cancellation mechanism.”

Source: ClassAction.org